• by Karlene Lukovitz , January 5, 2018

Milk-Bone has unveiled its Team USA sponsorship campaign for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.

The campaign, “Dogs Inspire More,” features an inspirational video series about four of the athletes and their dogs, along with a social campaign focused on user-generated pet photos.

In the video series, created in partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee, Olympic cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, U.S. Olympic figure skaters Maia and Alex Shibutani (above) and U.S. snowboarder Hailey Langland share how their dogs help inspire and support them through the challenges of training and competing.

Milk-Bone is also encouraging fans to share their own dogs' supportive and inspirational stories by using #DogsInspireMore on their social channels.

The campaign’s anthem video, some of the athletes’ own pet photos, and a tool that fans can use to upload their own pup photos are now spotlighted on a Milk-Bone campaign area within the Team USA site.

"Everything is a performance factor for an athlete, and there's hardly any bigger factor than being happy," said U.S. Olympic Committee sports psychologist Sean McCann, explaining the premise of the campaign. "Directing attention to a companion gives an athlete a greater sense of purpose and makes a big difference with happiness. Dogs are funny, they make us laugh, and all these things are good for an athlete."

While J.M. Smucker has been sponsoring the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams since 2013, the 2018 Winter Games will mark the first Olympics appearance for Milk-Bone and Sahale Snacks. They will join the company’s Folgers, Smucker’s, Jif and Smucker’s Uncrustables brands.

A total of 10 athletes are partnering with the Smucker brands for the Olympics campaigns, which will include TV and digital advertising, custom packaging and retail promotions.