IOC Worldwide TOP Partner Visa has kicked off its Rio 2016 Olympics activation with a launch commercial that, literally, goes straight to the heart of an Olympic athlete.
It is the athlete’s heartbeat itself that serves as the centrepiece of this stirring spot promoting the payments’ giant’s sponsorship of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Launched on 18 March, the new spot carries the narrative: ‘Like the heart of an Olympian, Visa is always performing. Our system never stops, and works whenever and wherever it’s needed. We are the beating heart of payments and proud sponsors of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.’
The ad mixes stirring shots of an athlete’s Olympic training programme and the associated soulful and solitary moments of the regime, with internal body footage of a heart beating inside someone’s chest to build tension and excitement.
That someone is the campaign’s athlete ambassador Ashley Bryant: a decathlete who won silver at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and who takes the role of the athlete preparing for the Rio games forthcoming games (as IOC rules forbade the use of an Olympic athlete in the ad).
The introspective commercial was created in harness with agency Saatchi & Saatchi London and directed by Juan Cabral of MJZ (the man behind the legendary Cadbury ‘Gorilla’ and Sony ‘Balls’ spots.
A 90-second version of the ad is being shown in cinemas, while other versions will also run on a variety of platforms spanning Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
‘Visa is the beating heart of payments – our system never stops and works whenever and wherever it’s needed,’ explains Visa Europe Executive Director, Brand & Central Marketing Gary Twelvetree.
‘Just like the Olympians that will compete in the Games this summer, Visa is always on and ready to perform. This film is a celebration of that synergy.’
Comment
A distinctly introspective, even poetic piece of creative, it is both beautiful and successful at cutting through the usually crowded and often clichéd sports commercial creative.
(What else would we expect from the director of some of the most stunning and successful commercials ever?)
Although Visa is not entirely alone in terms of brands aiming to capture the emotional intensity of an athlete preparing for the games, as earlier this month Under Armour and Droga5 debuted this moving ad looking into the Olympic training of swimmer Michael Phelps (see case study).
For London 2012 Visa’s activation ran under the ‘Go World’ title (see our case study) and it actually began activating its Rio Olympics rights back in October 2015 when the Worldwide TOP Partner unveiled its Team Visa programme for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 in San Francisco.
This initiative continues Visa’s longstanding support for athletes from around the world as they prepare for the Olympic Games.
The Team Visa Rio includes more than 30 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Carli Lloyd (USA), Ashton Eaton (USA), Emanuel Rego (Brazil), Tiago Splitter (Brazil), Sally Pearson (Australia), Ryan Cochrane (Canada), Kim Jae-Bum (Korea), Daiya Seto (Japan), Ivan Garcia (Mexico) and Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia).
Visa’s commitment to the Olympic Movement began in 1986, and has included sponsorship of all the Olympic Games from 1988 to 2020, and more than 300 sponsored athletes through the Team Visa programme.
Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Olympic Games. And, in addition to providing payment services to Organising Committees and Olympic spectators, Visa International has developed a tradition of programmes that support Olympic athletes in many countries, as well as programmes that teach the youth of the world about the history, values and ideals of the Olympic Movement.
Links:
Visa Golden Space YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/visagoldenspace
Visa Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Visa?lang=en-gb
Visa Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Visa/
Visa Website:
Rio 2016:
IOC:
