Tribute To Paralympians Leads Most Shared Olympic Ads Race
- British broadcaster Channel 4’s ‘We’re The Superhumans’ is Second Most Shared Olympics Ad of All Time
- P&G in 4th After Winning Gold At Last Two Olympic Games
August 3, 2016 – Channel 4, the British broadcaster airing the Paralympics, leads the way in the race to become the most shared Olympic ad of 2016.
According to data compiled by video ad tech company Unruly, C4’s “We’re The Superhumans” has generated 1,256,567 shares across social media since its release on July 14, putting it well ahead of Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” spot featuring US swimmer Michael Phelps, in silver position (308,000 shares).
The ad’s superb performance has also earned Channel 4 a place on the all-time Olympic podium as the second most shared ad of all time, behind P&G’s 2012 ad “Best Job” (2,445,774 shares).
Dan Best, MD, Global Client Development at Unruly, said: “It’s no surprise that Channel 4 is running away with the Olympics with its brilliant spot. Instead of the usual moody lighting and tough love storyline you get with a lot of Olympic ads, it takes a fresh approach, bringing humour, surprise and inspiration in buckets. Instead of crying along to the video you’ll be cheering along.”
Another ad from Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” campaign, this time featuring the USA Women’s Gymnastics team, is in bronze position with 186,865 shares. Both Under Armour spots also make the top 10 all-time list, in 5th and 8th places respectively.
P&G, whose spots have topped Unruly’s most shared charts at the last two Summer and Winter Olympics, currently holds fourth, with its “Strong” video attracting 180,725 shares.
Nike was the only advertiser to have two videos in the top 10, with “Unlimited Serena Williams and “Unlimited Future” in 7th and 10th respectively. The sports giant also has two additional videos from its Unlimited campaign, featuring Allyson Felix and Simone Biles, in the top 20 list.
The longest ad in the top 10 list comes from Gatorade, which released a 7+ minute cartoon titled “The Boy Who Learned to Fly”, highlighting the story of track and field superstar Usain Bolt. The video is 8th on the list after attracting 63,803 shares so far.
Videos from BBC (#5), United (#6) and Gillette (#9) also make the top 10. Ads that just missed out include the 30 and 60 second versions of Always’ latest #LikeAGirl spot, at #12 and #16 respectively, as well as ads from Samsung and Virgin Media.
Top 10 most shared Olympics 2016 ads
- Channel 4: We’re The Superhumans | Rio Paralympics 2016 Trailer –1,256,567 shares
- Under Armour: RULE YOURSELF | MICHAEL PHELPS –308,000 shares
- Under Armour: RULE YOURSELF | USA WOMENS GYMNASTICS – 186,865 shares
- P&G: Thank You, Mom – Strong | Rio 2016 Olympic Games – 180,725 shares
- BBC Sport: Rio 2016 Olympic Games: Trailer – 79,295 shares
- United: Team USA Commercial: ‘One Journey. Two Teams.’ – 72,355 shares
- Nike: Unlimited Serena Williams – 65,668 shares
- Gatorade: The Boy Who Learned to Fly | Usain Bolt – 63,803 shares
- Gillette: Perfect Isn’t Pretty | Rio 2016 Olympic Games | Sia Unstoppable (long) – 41,353 shares
- Nike: Unlimited Future – 40,037 shares
Source: Unruly. Data collated on August 1, 2016 and includes shares of both YouTube and Facebook videos
