Ad of the Day: P&G salutes Olympic parents as it gears up for Tokyo 2020 brand blitz
It’s been a whole five years since Procter and Gamble (P&G) unveiled ‘Thank You Mom’, its Rio 2016 masterpiece which celebrated the mothers behind Olympic and Paralympic champions. Now, as we gear up for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games, the Tide and Always owner is looking to reduce viewers to tears once more by shining its spotlight on parents.
The FMCG giant has unveiled a multibrand campaign inspired by the many Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are not only achieving athletic greatness, but are also commiting to acts of good and making a positive difference in their communities.
Feeding into P&G’s wider ‘Lead with Love’ push, these sporting protégés are the stars of two new films marking the FMCG brand’s Olympic partnership.
The first (above), ‘Love Leads to Good’, celebrates the important role all parents have in raising their children to be good. It offers viewers a glimpse into those quiet moments of teaching over a lifetime that develop a child into a champion – as an athlete – and as a human being.
The second spot (below), ‘Your Goodness is Your Greatness’, is narrated from the perspective of proud parents. The film features Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are ‘leading with love’ and showing the world that the true measure of greatness is goodness.
US athletes with a starring role in the latter film include six-time Olympic Gold Medalist Allyson Felix, track and field; four-time world champion Carissa Moore, surfing; and Olympic gold medalist, Elena Delle Donne, basketball.
P&G’s global Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 campaign will also include a documentary-style film series called ‘Good is Gold’, which will tell the moving, real-life stories of four Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls as they take action against bias and inequality. The stories of Tom Daley (Great Britain, Diving), Zeina Nassar (Germany, boxing) and US athletes Allyson Felix and Scout Bassett will all feature.
Several P&G brands are running Olympic Games programs that support athletes and address important topics like equality and inclusion. Always and SK-II, for instance, will champion keeping girls in sports.
In total, seven of its P&G’s US brands – Tide, Pantene, Olay, Venus, Always, Secret and SK-II – will partner with 15 individual Team USA athletes to bring their brands to consumers.
To dovetail with the Tokyo 2020 campaign, P&G has collaborated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to award $500,000 of support through its ‘Athletes for Good Fund’.
Several grants will goes to charitable organizations supported by athletes, including 28 Olympic hopefuls and 24 Paralympians, representing 20 countries and 25 sports.
“Over the past decade, we have been honored and humbled to tell the stories of amazing athletes and the families who have supported them on the journey to achieving their Olympic and Paralympic dreams,” said P&G’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard.
“When those dreams were put on hold in 2020, we were inspired as they moved beyond their own disappointment and stepped up to help others and serve their communities. By putting others above themselves and lending their time, talent, and resources to help those in need, these accomplished athletes show that their goodness is their greatness.”
Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced Tokyo officials to delay the Summer Olympics and Paralympics to July 2021. However, organizers plumped to keep the Tokyo 2020 name, saying they wanted the event to be seen as a “light at the end of the tunnel”.
This Olympics is set to be one like no other, with a bar on spectators from abroad and crowd limits to help make sure the sporting spectacle doesn’t become a super spreader event of global proportions.
Sponsors and fringe advertisers have already been gearing up their activitations and partnerships. In the past month, four-time Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles has signed up with Gap Athleta brand for a new apparel partnership, ending her almost six-year deal with Nike.
Elsewhere, Peleton has tapped runner Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, along with Olympic gold medalist and tennis champion Angelique Kerber for its campaign which takes advantage of softened ad rules for non-official partners.
You can watch ‘Love Leads to Goodness’ and ‘Your Goodness is Your Greatness’ in full above. To get in touch about Ad of the Day, please email: imogen.watson@thedrum.com