Tearjerking Guinness Olympic ad is barred after just ONE day
Savor the most tearjerking ad of the Winter Olympics so far shown below - but it won’t even be shown while the games are in full flight.
The games go ahead - without the ad
Guinness yesterday released the ad , telling the story of an athlete who gave up her spot in the Olympics so her twin sister could take part.
But viewers will have to watch the ad quickly before it disappears on Thursday morning, reports AdAge.
The spot features biathlete Tracy Barnes, who recently gave up her place on the U.S. Olympic Team to her twin sister, Lanny, after Lanny was too ill to compete in some of the qualifying races.
So why is the ad going to vanish? U.S. Olympic Committee rules generally ban marketers who are not official sponsors from featuring Olympic competitors, according to Guinness. This year's ad blackout runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 26.
Competitors appearing in Olympic ads must get permission from the IOC executive board. But waivers for USOC sponsors "will nearly always be granted," while permission "will not be granted to companies that compete with USOC sponsors," according to the rules.
Diageo-owned Guinness is not an Olympic sponsor. Competing brand Budweiser is an official Team USA sponsor.
So Guinness has got the story out there by making a one-day media buy, says AdAge, including TV, YouTube and print ads in daily newspapers.
"We are not doing this as a guerilla marketing tactic to ride the wave of the Olympics," said Diageo spokesman Jim Sias.
"This is just a really powerful, inspirational story that we think really aligns with the DNA of what the Guinness brand is," he added. "We really wanted to celebrate it and make this story more known and recognize it."
The ad, by BBDO, New York, is part of the brand's "Made of More" campaign. It was put together after the Olympic team trials earlier this month. As NBC Sports reported, "Lanny was just out of the running until Tracy informed her of a decision she made before that final race."
"Love means giving up your dream so someone else can realize theirs," Tracy Barnes said, according to 3 Wire Sports.