Every two years the world comes together for a few brief weeks to celebrate athleticism during the Olympic Games.
The sportsmanship, achievements, and national glory are enough to make anyone feel a tiny lump swell in their throat and have their eyes glisten with tears of pride. But one new ad campaign may make that lump turn to a sob.
A new ad campaign by Leo Burnett Chicago for Samsung is preparing sports fanatics for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by tapping into their emotions through a series of heart-pumping commercial spots.
The campaign, promoted on social platforms via #DoWhatYouCant, released its first commercial in June, “The Chant,” which follows 19-year-old Margret Ramat Ramat Hassan, a 400-meter runner from South Sudan who will represent the country at the summer Olympics for the first time in its history.
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While promoting Samsung’s Gear IconX cordless headphones, the spot aims to encapsulate the idea of overcoming obstacles to achieve the unthinkable.
Leo Burnett Chicago SVP and Creative Director Gordy Sang told AdWeek, “We wanted to find an athlete that represented progress and defied the barriers and overcame something, to be an embodiment of what the brand is and the mentality of the brand. You can’t move forward without overcoming obstacles.”
The most recent addition to the campaign, “The Anthem,” follows the same premise but tells a new story of unity in a world divided. The ad seamlessly combines the national anthems of 15 different countries around the world from Botswana, to Australia, to Malaysia, and the United States.
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Six Olympic athletes are featured in the commercial, including British diver Tom Daley, who related to the Samsung campaign in a recent statement, saying:
“I’m thrilled to be among the talented and strong-minded athletes featured in Samsung’s ‘Anthem,’ and to share my personal story of defying barriers with the world leading up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. I’ve overcome several obstacles throughout my athletic career, but I’m thankful for these challenges because they have made me stronger and even more determined to succeed.”
What comes together to form a beautifully lucid tune, “The Anthem” is a chilling reminder that solidarity can be achieved in a “world without barriers.” Perhaps this ad will inspire us to root for the world, and not just our home country.
