Half Of The Most Shared Olympics Ads Of All Time Come From The Rio Games
Paralympics promo from British broadcaster Channel 4 takes gold in Rio as ads from Under Armour, Nike and P&G also make the all-time top 10
Monday, August 22, 2016 – Half of the top 10 most shared Olympic ads of all time come from the Rio Games.
That’s according to data released today by video ad tech company Unruly, which puts ads from British broadcaster Channel 4, Under Armour, Nike and P&G in the all-time chart.
Channel 4’s “We’re The Superhumans” is the most shared ad of the Rio Olympics. The ad promoting the TV channel’s coverage of the upcoming Paralympic Games took gold after being shared more than 1.46 million times across social media, almost a million more than its closest competitor, Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself”, featuring Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
However, it was not enough to make the ad the most shared of all time, held by P&G’s 2012 ad “Best Job”, which currently leads the way with more than 2.44 million shares. But with the Paralympics not due to start till next month, the spot – currently in second place – still has time to claim the all-time gold.
Michael Phelps’ Olympic ad’s 473,635 shares were enough to earn Under Armour silver in Rio, but not enough to earn it a place on the all-time podium, the Olympic swimmer instead having to settle for fourth.
The latest instalment from P&G’s highly-successful “Thank You, Mom” campaign not only took bronze in Rio but was also sixth in the all-time chart – the third ad from P&G to make the list.
An Under Armour spot featuring the USA gymnastics team and Nike’s “Unlimited Youth” also make the all-time list, in 9th and 10th positions respectively.
Meanwhile, Nike’s decision to release several different ads as opposed to one blockbuster ad also meant the sports giant had three ads in this year’s top 10 – the most by any brand. Spots from United, Gatorade and the BBC also made the Rio top 10.
Top 10 most shared Olympic ads of all time
- P&G – Thank You Mama – Best Job (London 2012) – 2,450,713 shares
- Channel 4: We’re The Superhumans (Rio Paralympics 2016) – 1,465,776 shares
- P&G – Pick Them Back Up (Sochi 2014) – 699,564 shares
- Under Armour: RULE YOURSELF | MICHAEL PHELPS (Rio 2016) – 473,635
- Canadian Institute For Diversity And Inclusion – Luge (Sochi 2014) – 324,161 shares
- P&G: Thank You, Mom – Strong (Rio 2016) – 200,913
- Nike – Find Your Greatness Commercial: The Jogger (London 2012)– 199,731 shares
- adidas – Team GB Don’t Stop Me Now (London 2012) – 198,987 shares
- Under Armour: RULE YOURSELF | USA WOMENS GYMNASTICS (Rio 2016) – 193,242
- Nike: Unlimited Youth (Rio 2016) – 187,384
Top 10 most shared ads of Rio 2016
- Channel 4: We’re The Superhumans | Rio Paralympics 2016 Trailer – 1,465,776 shares
- Under Armour: RULE YOURSELF | MICHAEL PHELPS – 473,635
- P&G: Thank You, Mom – Strong | Rio 2016 Olympic Games – 200,913
- Under Armour: RULE YOURSELF | USA WOMENS GYMNASTICS – 193,242
- Nike: Unlimited Youth – 187,384
- United: Team USA Commercial: ‘One Journey. Two Teams.’ – 184,962
- Nike: Unlimited You – 154,693
- Gatorade: The Boy Who Learned to Fly | Usain Bolt – 128,254 shares
- BBC Sport: Rio 2016 Olympic Games: Trailer – 107,570
- Nike: Unlimited Together – 87,300
Unruly has also released data today which shows how the average Olympic ad compares with the rest of Adland.
Using analysis taken from Unruly Pulse – an analytics tool which provides insight into the emotional trends of video advertising – the video ad tech company found that Olympic ads are almost twice as likely to make viewers feel inspired and almost three times as likely to make people feel proud than the average ad (93% and 166% respectively).
They are also 75% more likely to leave viewers feeling intensely exhilarated, 66% more likely to amaze and 20% more likely to leave people feeling very happy. However, the average Olympic ad is half as likely to make people laugh.
Meanwhile, people are 34% more likely to share an Olympic ad for social good reasons than the average ad and 46% more likely to share ads just to be part of the zeitgeist.
To find out more about Unruly Pulse, click here.