• by Danielle Oster , August 21, 2024

 
Image above: A still from Toyota's “Start Your Impossible” ad.

Advertising for the 2024 Paris Olympics was far more inclusive and culturally resonant than Super Bowl advertising, according to a recent study.

AIMM (Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing) and Cultural Inclusion Accelerator analyzed audience responses to over 50 Olympics ads from major marketers and found they performed higher in inclusivity and ad effectiveness metrics across segments and demographics.

Olympics ads scored particularly well in “Cultural Pride,” “Cultural Identity,” and “Cultural Values” categories, contributing to 40% higher “breakthrough” effectiveness, a 30% increase in brand opinion, and a 14% lift in purchase intent, compared to Super Bowl ads. Top ads included Visa’s “Prodigies,” Toyota’s “Start Your Impossible” and “Sendoff,” Gatorade’s “It Hasn’t Changed,” and Microsoft’s “Reimagine What’s Possible.”

Marketing Daily caught up with AIMM co-founder Carlos Santiago on what makes these ads stand out, comparisons to the Super Bowl, and what brands can take away from the results.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marketing Daily: Can you speak to how Olympics ads compared to the Super Bowl? Are there aspects specific to the nature of the Olympics that lend the event particularly well to more inclusive advertising?

Carlos Santiago: There’s no comparison: the levels of pride, identity, cultural values and role models are through the roof [for Olympics ads] compared to the Super Bowl.

I think advertisers know the Olympics are a global event that brings out the cultural pride inherent in all consumers: We’re all American, but all come from someplace, so viewers are often rooting for the U.S. but also where their parents or grandparents are from.

It’s an event that opens up our understanding that we’re all here together, regardless of the boundaries of our countries and conflicts, when we come together as humans, to celebrate the qualities of perseverance that lead winning athletes to get the gold.

Olympics advertisers had a more inclusive and culturally relevant focus across the board, while Super Bowl advertisers had less of a broad focus on cultural appeal, with more of an emphasis on humor and entertainment -- qualities that can be more culturally specific and hard to make broadly resonate across cultural groups.

Marketing Daily: Were there any segments where progress in inclusive representation was particularly notable?

Santiago: We saw progress in the disability segment, with this group seeing themselves depicted more authentically in the advertising overall. It’s one of the more unifying factors across all races and ethnicities: to see people with disabilities included and portrayed positively as strong, determined, and part of our society.

I think brands understand that can be done in a way that’s seamless and organic and doesn’t feel forced or over-the-top. Brands are doing a lot better at bringing forward those storylines and folding them into their brand messaging.

Marketing Daily: What are some of the takeaways from these results that advertisers can apply going forward?

Santiago: Inclusivity and cultural relevance translates to better effectiveness across all metrics: there’s a strong benefit to the brands who are able to capture those cultural attributes in an inspiring, motivational way.

Compare it the Super Bowl, where advertisers don’t share stories of how athletes got to where they are as much as they could.  Overcoming all odds and still winning is  a positive message. At a time when the country is polarized, it can create a pathway to being authentic and reflective of different cultures while bringing us together. Theres something very powerful there. I think the Olympics set a really high bar for what is possible, and am hopeful that advertisers will follow in the same creative vein.

Marketing Daily: What do these results suggest about inclusivity for brands at a time when cultural inclusivity, and DEI more broadly, are being attacked by well-funded far-right groups and individuals?

Santiago: I believe brands are trying to find the best way to connect with all consumers at this time, in a very complex environment: sometimes they play it too safe, and sometimes they have achieved creative breakthroughs and ad effectiveness, as exemplified with the Olympics.

When you're talking about ad effectiveness that has translated to results like 40% higher breakthrough than the Super Bowl, 30% higher brand opinion, and purchase intent that is 15% higher, that has a major effect on brands’ understanding that it can be done.

We can be inclusive, and yet reach those levels of ad effectiveness, bringing in human emotions that appeal to our best human qualities within storylines that are rooted in culture. That’s not easy to do, but we saw it done well from so many brands. Advertising can be inclusive, while still being “safe” for brands.