TV Ad Spend Weekly: Toyota doubles down on Olympic storytelling
Advertisers are continuing to spend big during the Winter Olympics. The games accounted for 28% of new national TV ad spend during the week of February 12th. Overall, advertisers spent $129m on new broadcast placements, a decrease of 50% from the previous week when spend reached higher than typical levels. This could be attributed to some advertisers front-loading their new commercials towards the beginning dates of the winter competition and re-running the same ads throughout the games.
Toyota, a partner of the Olympics for the next six years, debuts its first global work this week / Kantar Media
To commemorate its eight-year worldwide partnership with The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, Toyota launched its first-ever global marketing campaign titled “Start Your Impossible” at the start of the 2018 winter games. The campaign highlights real-life stories of Olympic, Paralympic and everyday athletes. As part of the campaign, Toyota released two new ads this week which together made up 99% of the brand’s new ad spend.
Comcast spent quality time with viewers last week, airing a trio of spots. This week, the media conglomerate didn’t make the list, giving opportunity to other brands to grace television screens during the Olympic telecast. AT&T debuted new, animated work during the primetime hours. Subway and LG also brought in new creative for the massive audience over the week.
The Japanese brand Toyota is getting its brand in the limelight on a global stage this week, hoping we remember its name come the summer games in Tokyo in 2020. It's already debuted a few new spots this year, and spent grandly on this newest pair.
In one commercial, six Olympic snowboarders are featured from all around the globe. Lindsey Jacobellis, (USA), Eva Samková (Czech Republic), Belle Brockhoff (Australia), Chloé Trespeuch (France), Carle Brenneman (Canada), and Isabel Clark Ribeiro (Brazil) are all shown starting their impossible from childhood to adolescence and eventually making it as professional Olympic athletes.
Another ad shows a young boy riding his bike through a small town when he finds himself competing with Olympians and realizes anything is possible for him as well.
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This data is part of ongoing reporting released on a weekly basis with Kantar Media using its AdScope tool.