• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 17, 2016

Canadian agency Harbinger Communications decided to query Canadian women on which Olympic ads they thought are the best. The agency gathered together women ranging from 24 to 63 years of age and asked them to review and rank the top Olympic themed ads being broadcast in Canada during the Games. P&G's Thank You, Mom - Strong emerged as their most memorable, followed by Samsung's The Anthem and Sport Chek's Olympic Manifesto. 

Study results are consistent with learnings from a recent Harbinger survey of Canadians, which found women (39%) are more likely than men (27%) to like ads that feature stories about athletes and/or their families. Women (35%) are also more likely than men (25%) to say ads are more memorable if they celebrate people coming together. Men (20%) are more likely than women (13%) to say ads that feature their favorite sport are more memorable. 

Ah...so analogous to this finding, that's why the Olympic broadcasts are filled with those melodramatic, heartstring-pulling featurettes instead of, you know, actual competition. OK, OK -- maybe that's harsh, but it isn't untrue, right? 

Of the findings, Harbinger SVP Managing Director Deborah Adams said: "One constant we saw among all of the top ads is that they contain underlying themes that speak to women's own values and experiences with messages that transcend the Olympics themselves. For example, Sport Chek's Olympic Manifesto appealed to a number of women during our couch session by showing failure as a natural part of life, but connected most with those who had also been athletes themselves."  

In addition, when asked to choose their favorite parts of Olympic TV coverage, women (58%) were far more likely than men (47%) to mention the opening and closing ceremonies. Women (35%) were also more likely than men (28%) to enjoy watching medal ceremonies for Canadians. 

Conversely, men (55%) were more likely than women (46%) to enjoy watching their favorite sports and also more likely than women to enjoy watching finals for any sport (49% of men vs. 39% of women). 

It seems the survey results matched quite will with the agency's query of women with Adams noting: "Overall, we saw a definite connection between what we learned in the survey about the nature of Olympic ads that are most likely to connect with women and the actual ads that emerged as favorites among participants in our couch session."