Now that the we are racing through the second week of the Olympics, it is time to look at some of the advertising winners. Millions have been tuning in via traditional television broadcasts and online streaming services. With 30+ sports the games attract diverse audiences from around the world. The global brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Toyota and Omega have shown up in force but so too have local and regional brands who are enhancing their visibility and aligning with the Olympic spirit of unity and competition.

Here at Luma we have been asking audiences around the world about the ads they are seeing during the Olympics to find out which ones are cutting through and why.

AAMI’s Athletes in the Making is one of the most powerful ads we have seen to date. It is cutting through and engaging audiences. While not an official Olympic sponsor, AAMI created this delightfully impactful ad that has already be seen by over 60% of those interviewed.

We know that storytelling is a powerful way to generate engagement and typically Olympics ads do this really well when they focus on athletes’ journeys to generate interest. AAMI takes a slightly different direction with a clever link back to insurance.

The key creative brilliance is the careful balance between humour and irritation. Watching the trials and tribulations of these athletes in the making is engaging, relatable and makes people smile over and over again. Who doesn’t love to see kids being kids and working on their own ingenious ways to improve their skills? While there is definitely some irritation at the damage, this set ups perfectly the need for AAMI. 

The story, bought to life with some star performances from the likeable kids, makes Athletes in the Making the most likeable and well cast ad we have seen in the Olympics to date.

This high engagement is not at the expense of the messaging and branding. The link to insurance and AAMI is strong (Branding is 97%) and it is also relevant, which drives strong brand feelings. After seeing the ad, our Bonding score is well above world class effectiveness benchmarks.  

What a clever way to attract audience attention and cement AAMI as a strong partner even if not an official sponsor.

So as we race through the second week, we will bring you more insights from what we have learnt.