Will P&G’s Tokyo Olympics Campaign Strike Gold Again?
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Will P&G’s Tokyo Olympics Campaign Strike Gold Again?

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P&G’s track record as an Olympic sponsor and advertiser dating back to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games has been truly outstanding, with its “Best Job” and “Thank You Mom” campaigns ranking among the most effective big event advertising of all time. Like other “Worldwide Olympic Partners,” the stakes are high, with the entry fee for the sponsorship being estimated at $100 million per Olympics/ Paralympics before a single ad is paid for. Having recently extended its commitment to the Olympics, P&G clearly regards it as a major part of its marketing efforts.

In conjunction with the company’s unveiling Tokyo 2020 campaign, I spoke to Marc Pritchard, Procter & Gamble’s Chief Brand Officer, about the company’s Olympic sponsorship. He describes the company’s approach as follows:

“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. 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 Overall Campaign

Two films released by P&G today, “Love Leads to Good” and “Your Goodness is Your Greatness,” are focused on a call to action to “lead with love” via acts of good. Each will appear digitally or on television (short form) in 15 countries. The former film focuses on the role parents play in raising children to be good and then depicts later scenes depicting the choice to be a good person based on lessons we have been taught by those who love us, showing displays of good sportsmanship and kindness. The latter film is narrated from the perspective of proud parents and features athletes, including sprinter six-time gold medalist Alyson Felix, achieving athletically and also performing good acts. According to P&G, an important focus of the campaign is on athletes taking steps for good and making a positive difference in their communities. The company states that is worldwide “Lead with Love” campaign is designed to “unite P&G’s longstanding Citizenship efforts of Community Impact, Equality & Inclusion, and Environmental Sustainability.”

Pritchard expresses enthusiasm for the new campaign. “This new campaign….goes beyond the field of play. It is inspired by the many Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are not only achieving athletic greatness, but also stepping up to take action for good, making a positive difference in their communities. When their dreams were put on hold in 2020, we were inspired by these athletes as they moved beyond their own disappointment and stepped up to help others and serve their communities. By putting others above themselves and lending their time, talent, and resources to help those in need—these Olympic and Paralympic athletes showed us that their goodness is their greatness. They are our inspiration and are the focus in the latest chapter of our worldwide ‘Lead with Love’ consumer campaign.”

Promoting P&G’s Individual Brands

An impressive aspect of P&G’s success in past Olympics has been in promoting key brands via well thought out celebrity endorsements, including new mom and volleyball player Kerri Walsh for Pampers and swimmer Michael Phelps for Head and Shoulders. Pritchard confirms that individual brands will again be promoted by celebrity athletes: “In the weeks leading up to the Tokyo Games, you’ll also see P&G’s Olympic campaign coming to life through our brands supporting athletes,” he states, “Always is helping girls stay in sports, teaming up with Olympic Gold Medalist Elena Delle Donne, Basketball; Olympic hopeful Mariah Duran, Skateboarding; Olympic Gold Medalist Laurie Hernandez, Gymnastics; Paralympian Scout Bassett, Track and Field; and girls’ education advocate Malala Yousafzai. Secret Deodorant is proud to continue its partnership with Olympic Gold Medalist Alex Morgan, Soccer, raising awareness for and inspiring others to take action for equal representation and equal compensation in sports.”

P&G’s Japanese cosmetics brand, SK-II will also be promoted, featuring famed gymnast Simone Biles, and the brand will set up a SK-II will set up a #CHANGEDESTINY fund, contributing $1 for every view garnered on each SK-II STUDIO film in support of women pursuing their destiny to create positive change. Tide, Pantene, Olay, Venus, Always, Secret will also partner with Team USA athletes to bring their unique Olympic Games brand campaigns to life, partnering with retailers to support Team USA through in-store, TV, and digital campaigns.

Critiquing the Campaign

As with its prior Olympic efforts, this campaign has a great deal going for it, yet there are a few caveats. With P&G’s target audience for the advertised products skewing female, the focus on women and diversity is laudable. Pritchard and P&G are strong believers in realistic portrayals of diverse groups and this comes through strongly in the films and campaign. As my own research and that of other academics has shown, realistic, non-stereotypical portrayals are much more likely be effective. P&G’s continued efforts to showcase the Paralympics are impressive and impactful.

It is also the case  that empowerment messages focused on overcoming obstacles score well with a wide range of consumers. In addition, emotional appeals tend to well-received in big event advertising. Such appeals are especially important in the context of the Olympics, where there are so many sponsors (in addition to global partners, there are many official sponsors of national teams and individual teams within a country) and advertisers. 

The primary caveat for P&G is in making an effort to stay out of politically charged territory. In “Your Goodness is Your Greatness,” the company includes an image, albeit brief, of Allyson Felix at a Black Lives Matter rally. As pointed out by market research experts Ace Metrix in a report, A prior P&G campaign titled “The Choice” was perceived by consumers as not being empowering, but rather entering what it referred to “the danger zone” of being exploitive. Importantly, Ace Metrix points out that this perception was not solely driven by partly lines or an individual’s support for #BLM. The issue is that consumers do not care for a negative tone (clearly not present in this film) or divisive intent for purposes of gaining attention or selling a product. While there is a legitimate policy debate to be had over police practices, rising murder rates in our cities in the face of efforts to “defund” the police  suggest that there are no easy answers here.

From my own point of view, it would not be difficult for P&G to run virtually the same campaign without wading into divisive territory. There are many unifying issues that can be focused on, something the campaign generally achieves with its diversity and equality themes. Keeping the central focus on acts of athletic prowess and personal spreading of love and kindness in an emotionally appealing and unifying way would be the most effective mechanism for achieving the campaign’s goals. If they do this, the campaign should be another gold medalist.

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