Colle+McVoy, USA Swimming Present ‘Olympic Swimmers When They Were Just Beginners’

Colle+McVoy launched a spot for USA Swimming showing Olympic swimmers as kids, entitled “Olympic swimmers when they were just beginners.”

The athletes featured are Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky and, of course, Michael Phelps. Full of home video footage of the top swimmers from well before they were professionals, the 60-second spot juxtaposes the grainy footage with audio of the athletes winning gold and breaking records. Near the end of the spot, it switches some more recent footage. The message is clear: everybody has to start somewhere (even Olympic gold medalists). 

“Before we were winners, we were all beginners,” the voiceover intones before the tagline (sure to annoy English teachers everywhere), “Join the funnest sport there is.” That voiceover is perhaps a tad unnecessary, given how obvious the message is, but since it targets families with children, it’s understandable that they chose to include it. The spot is part of a larger “#SwimUnited” campaign for Team USA, which we expect to see more from before the end of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Credits:

Client: USA Swimming
Agency: Colle+McVoy
Editing: Aaron Nelson, Ditch Edit
Music: Marmoset Music

Agency/Prodco Would Just Rather Be Skateboarding

Today in agency self-promos, we bring this 90-second clip from New York-based shop Rooster, which pretty much makes it clear in the brief amount of time what its first love is (its co-founder/creative director, Gavin McInness, is the co-founder of Vice and the “godfather of hipsterdom” after all).

We’re seen some pretty self-indulgent agencies patting themselves on the back clips in the past, but at least this one makes us want to revisit the ’80s flick, Gleaming the Cube, or that modern doc, Dogtown and Z-Boys. It appeases our short attention span and takes us back to the days when we scraped elbows, knees and more. So, good on ya Rooster. The shop currently works with clients including Red Bull, Qualcomm and Nissan (you might remember its recent work for the last brand starring Ryan Lochte).

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Jeah, Ryan Lochte Muscles Up for Nissan

Ryan Lochte may wear that clueless grin in the new Nissan spot created by TBWA, but he’s still laughing to the bank on the heels of his impressive, yet imperfect 2012 Olympics. Ryan Lochte’s “Office Burn” shows car customers (remember, this is for Nissan) how to stay fit at the office: conference call calisthenics, coffee curls, and synergy sit-ups are just a few of the drills Lochte powers through in a buttoned sport coat. Nissan’s Innovation for Endurance might make sense, say, if we actually saw more cars in the commercial. But–like most Ryan Lochte moments–things don’t always make sense.

For those interested in a funnier example of Lochte’s senselessness, watch this Funny or Die video. There’s no product placement, and you get to hear an Olympic gold medalist say, “The pool is the biggest and most expensive toilet. And it’s all mine.”

If only these office exercises could’ve helped Lochte win more gold medals than Michael PhelpsThere’s always 2016. A ridiculously long list of credits after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Gold Medal for Copycat? / Médaille d’or de la pompe?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

THE ORIGINAL?
Belgian Olympic Team – 2000
Source : Cannes Archive Online
Agency : Duval Guillaume Brussels (Belgium)
LESS ORIGINAL
AT&T Olympic Games Sponsorship – 2012
Source : Creativity Online
Agency : BBDO New York (USA)