Paris 2024 Olympics: Pop Culture’s Winning Moves
Published 26 July 2024
The world of pop culture is gearing up for a Paris 2024 Olympics takeover. From Olympians lining up to win at TikTok trends to broadcasters going big on companion content and a bullish Nike ad about winning at all costs, we take stock of key developments on the eve of the event.
NBCU’s Content Creation Games
In addition to dynamic streaming options on its Peacock platform – such as a multiview feature and a live watch-along show presented by American podcast superstar Alex Cooper (for more, see Sportstainment: The Future of Sports Fan Experiences) – US-based media conglomerate NBCUniversal (NBCU) has partnered with TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Snap and American sports media company Overtime to make content creators a central part of its coverage strategy.
The Paris Creator Collective is a group of 27 influencers – including American @Kai_Cenat and Canadian @MollyCarlson – producing content from the Games for NBCU’s official social media channels. Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, said the initiative “will reach out to the younger generation of Olympic fans with personalities, content, and voices they consistently engage with in their daily lives”, and the creators will be posting about everything “from the athletes to the food to the celebration”. NBCU is also inviting advertising partners to team up with the Paris Creator Collective on sponsored posts.
NBCU
Netflix Goes for Sportstainment Gold
Netflix is reaffirming its position as a leader in sports companion documentaries by partnering with the International Olympic Committee on three docs diving into the lives of Olympic athletes, premiering in July.
A show about men’s basketball will take a look at the drama of qualifying rounds. Simone Biles Rising is a four-part series following the American star gymnast’s return to the Olympics after pulling out of Tokyo 2020 due to mental health concerns. And a second season of Sprint, about superstar sprinters, will follow Olympic hopefuls Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles (both American) and Jamaican Shericka Jackson. For more on centring women in the sports storytelling boom, see Pop Culture & Media Futures: 24/25.
Netflix
Netflix
Netflix
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The Olympian to TikTokker Pipeline
Olympians themselves are taking to TikTok and Instagram Reels to deliver behind-the-scenes access, Olympic Village room tours, merch unboxing hauls and their takes on dance trends.
Dutch skateboarder Keet Oldenbeuvig posted about her gifted haul from Fila, US-born Philippine gymnast Aleah Finnegan showed off goodies from Adidas, and American canoeist Evy Leibfarth made several videos showcasing gifts from Nike and Skims.
A popular dance trend set to audio track 911 Emergency, in which TikTokkers cycle through several outfits to a theme of their choosing (e.g. “a week of work outfits”), has inspired Olympians to show off the various outfits of their national kit: British rugby player Ellie Boatman’s version has 3.9 million views.
Some national kits are also appraised on #FashionTok, with the traditional outfits of the Mongolian team being a particular online favourite. For more on Olympics style, see Paris 2024 Olympics: Key Fashion Takeaways.
@ellieboatman Team Gb Olympic kit version of this trend Safe to say we get a little bored on our rest days 😂 #teamgb #olympics #paris2024 #rugbysevens ♬ 911 Emergency - Carl
Nike’s Unapologetically Competitive Ads
The generous gifts for Olympians are part of Nike’s major marketing spend for the 2024 Games, its highest ever for the event. The hero content in this big push is its Winning Isn’t for Everyone campaign, featuring an ad by US-based agency Wieden+Kennedy in which Olympic athletes show off their game faces as a voice-over by American actor Willem Dafoe describes the unabashed single-mindedness of a winning attitude.
Inspired by insights from top athletes, such as Chinese tennis star Qinwen Zheng and Norwegian champion runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, on what it takes to win, the ad firmly eschews the everyone’s-a-winner ideology, with Dafoe intoning: “I’m obsessive. I’m selfish. I have zero compassion. I don’t respect you. I’m maniacal. Am I a bad person? I think I’m better than everyone else.” Nike said of the perspective behind the ad: “The competitive spirit isn’t something to be apologetic about. In a world where wanting to win has a losing reputation, our campaign speaks to the grit, determination, sacrifice and passion it takes athletes to get to the top of their sport and the Olympic stage.”
The video is complemented by a poster campaign featuring slogans like “My dream is to end theirs” and “If you don’t want to win, you’ve already lost”.
For more, see Olympics & Paralympics 2024: 10 Big Ideas for Sports Marketing.
