Procter and Gamble (P&G) began seriously gearing up for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games at the start of May when the IOC partner and parent company of brands like Tide and Always launched a pair of spots which both include a call-to-action to ‘lead with love’ via acts of good.
Indeed, the new Olympic and Paralympic activation forms the latest chapter of P&G’s global ‘Lead With Love’ consumer brand platform.
Thus the core focus of the IOC global partner’s Tokyo 2020/21 activation is on athletes’ acts of goodness and making positive differences in their communities and reinforces P&G’s ‘Lead With Love’ platform which aims to “unite P&G’s longstanding Citizenship efforts of Community Impact, Equality & Inclusion, and Environmental Sustainability.”
The Olympic launch work creative again sees P&G seek to reduce viewers to tears as it shines its sports marketing spotlight on parents with the 5 May release of ‘Love Leads To Good’ and ‘Your Goodness is Your Greatness’ on digital channels and television in 15 countries.
The first ad (a 2-minute 30-second short film) shines a spotlight on the role parents in raising kids to be good, while the latter (a 60-second spot) is narrated from the perspective of proud parents and features athletes – including several of the brand’s athlete ambassadors – both achieving athletically and performing good acts.
“We created this film [Love Leads To Good] before the Tokyo Games were postponed, but we feel that its message of love is more relevant than ever,” said P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard in the campaign launch presentation. “P&G believes the Olympic Games have a tremendous power to unite the world through sport.”
The pair of launch ads, created by Wieden + Kennedy Portland, are further supported by a series of short film focusing on members of the P&G athlete ambassador team and targeting specific regions and markets including Zeina Nassar, Tom Daley, Scout Bassett and Allyson Felix.
These will be followed with fresh films, in-store, TV and digital work in the weeks leading up to Tokyo as P&G’s Olympic campaign comes to life through its brands (including Always, Olay, Pantene, Secret, Tide and Venus) and athlete ambassadors who also include Elena Delle Donne (basketball), Mariah Duran (skateboarding), Laurie Hernandez (gymnastics) and girls’ education advocate Malala Yousafzai.
For example, brand specific initiatives will see Secret Deodorant continue its partnership with Olympic Gold medal winning soccer star Alex Morgan, while Japanese cosmetics brand SK-II will run a campaign fronted by gymnast Simone Biles.
“P&G believes the Olympic Games have tremendous power to unite people through sport, and we are proud to have been part of the Olympic Movement for more than a decade. While each Olympic Games has been different, our approach has always been to celebrate the journey athletes take on the road to their Olympic dreams and the many people who support them along the way,” said P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard of the company’s Olympic sponsorship. “Our P&G Olympics campaigns, along with individual brand campaigns, have consistently been a force for growth by enabling us to engage with consumers in markets around the world through inspirational advertising and in-store displays and promotions.”
The idea is that the activation, while inspired by the many Olympic and Paralympic athletes, stretches far beyond elite performances in the stadium or the field of play, but also reaches out to athletes taking action for good and making a positive difference in their communities.
Comment:
According to P&G itself, a commitment to ‘doing good’ is in its DNA as for generations it has supported consumers and communities through unexpected challenges. After a 180-year history (in one form or another), the company believes that the extraordinary events of 2020 have made it clear that brands have a responsibility to society and the world around us and thus P&G’s ‘Lead with Love’ is a corporate platform which sees the company do more and do better for communities, equality and the planet.
As P&G’s target audience skews female, there is a strong focus on women and mothers via realistic portrayals of diverse demographics and this is clearly reflected in the early P&G 2020/21 Olympic work.gh strongly in the films and campaign.
P&G’s Olympic sponsorship heritage dates back to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and includes initiatives such as ‘Best Job’ and ‘Thank You Mom’
As with its fellow IOC Worldwide Olympic Partners, the stakes and the financial sums involved are high (with TOP level rights fees running at $100m plus per Games), the volume and importance of P&G’s Tokyo work is a major part of its marketing mix.
It’s been a while since its 2018 ‘Measure Of Greatness’ Games work,
and a long five years since P&G unveiled its award-winning Rio 2016 Olympic ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign which celebrated the mothers behind Olympic and Paralympic champions.
This work, of course, built upon its previous Sochi 2014 ‘Pick Them Back Up’ and London 2012 ‘Proud Sponsor Of Mums’ activation.
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