New global Olympics campaign created by Deloitte Digital
The International Olympic Committee has tapped the Australian & New Zealand branch of Deloitte Digital to launch a new campaign marking the 100-day countdown to the Paris Games.
Titled the ‘The First Effect’, the video component of the global campaign features a number of pioneering moments in Olympic history – highlighting that “in sport, first isn’t just about winning,” – while an attendant webpage tracks the wider societal impact of those momentous occasions.
The co-branded campaign was devised down under by the local team of Deloitte Digital, including chief creative officer Dan Wright and creative, brand & media partner Adrian Mills, with the Big Four firm having signed a decade-long top-tier strategic partnership deal with the IOC back in 2022.
“Sport is usually about coming first; we’re setting out to prove that being first can create a bigger impact,” stated Deloitte Digital’s Melbourne-based Asia Pacific chief creative officer Matt Lawson, pointing to middle distance runner Sarah Attar, who despite finishing dead last in her heat at the 2012 London Games will forever be remembered as the first woman to represent Saudi Arabia at an Olympics.
Since that time, according to the campaign webpage, female sporting participation has flourished in the Kingdom, rising by almost 150 percent between 2015 and 2020. Other groundbreaking athletes featured include South African Natalie du Toit, who helped to dramatically change attitudes towards sportspeople with disabilities after becoming the first amputee swimmer to compete in an Olympics event in 2008 in Beijing.
Along with the ongoing media campaign across channels in the lead-up to Paris in July, Deloitte will also continue to highlight the fresh ‘firsts’ which occur throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which have already been noted as the first event to feature an equal number of male and female participants. Perhaps less groundbreaking on paper, the 2024 Games will also see the debut of breakdancing as a sport.
“Worldwide Olympic Partner Deloitte’s ‘The First Effect’ campaign epitomises the spirit of pioneering excellence that defines the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” stated Anne Aikman, a vice president within the IOC’s television and marketing services’ division. This campaign highlights the IOC and Deloitte’s belief in the transformative power of sport.”