Ads Give Olympics an Inspirational Spin

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday unveiled television and radio commercials designed to polish the image of an organization that has been shaken by a bribery scandal over the past year. The ads featuring such famous athletes as Jesse Owens are narrated by actor Robin Williams and will be run at no cost in 200 countries by IOC broadcast partners.

IOC executives denied that the campaign created by TBWA/Chiat/Day’s Los Angeles office was in response to the scandal that marred the selection of Salt Lake City and Sydney, Australia, as sites for upcoming Games. “If anyone out there is thinking this campaign is in response to the events of last year, let me stop you there,” IOC Marketing Director Michael R. Payne said during a speech Wednesday in New York City.

IOC executives declined to say how much was spent on the campaign, but emphasized that Williams had donated his services and that the organization won’t have to pay networks to run the spots.

One commercial shows the dramatic 1992 race in which British runner Derek Redmond tore a hamstring in his leg but continued to limp around the stadium to the finish line. A radio ad tells of a German long jumper who risked Adolph Hitler’s ire by placing a towel at the foul line to help Owens, the black athlete from the United States, avoid disqualification during the 1936 Berlin Games.

The ads that urge viewers and listeners to “Celebrate Humanity” also take a poke at a recent Nike commercial that cast doubts on the competitive nature of second-place finishers. “Someone once said you don’t win your silver--you lose your gold,” the spot notes. “Obviously, they never won the silver.”

The advertising campaign that features uplifting victories and heart-wrenching defeats shows images of boxers, gymnasts, runners and skiers--all intertwined by the five Olympic rings. TBWA/Chiat/Day benefited from the “embarrassment of riches” contained in the IOC’s extensive film collection, said Maggie Silverman, the agency’s global account director for the IOC campaign.

When the IOC last summer announced plans to produce an advertising campaign, it described the effort as an extension of an initiative dating to the 1996 Atlanta Games. The campaign clearly is driven by the IOC’s desire to more effectively leverage a vast reservoir of goodwill that the Olympics enjoy around the world.

Largely on the strength of its pristine public image, the IOC had built a powerful marketing machine that has generated nearly $15 billion in revenue since 1980, when IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch took office. Lucrative broadcast rights deals and corporate sponsorships generate the lion’s share of Olympic revenue. Observers say the IOC’s new advertising effort could help polish the organization’s reputation as it recruits future broadcast partners and corporate sponsors.

Four sponsors already have signed up for four-year commitments that begin after this summer’s Sydney Games. IOC sponsors are paying $50 million for global sponsorship rights during the four-year period leading up to the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and 2004 Summer Games in Athens. Coca-Cola Co., Visa International, Time Warner and SEMA, a French computer company, recently signed contracts, and Olympic spokesmen said other agreements will be announced during coming months.

Those who have seen the ads agree that the images of Olympic athletes stir strong emotions. “I was moved. I almost started crying,” said Kevin Young, the 1992 gold-medalist in the 400-meter hurdles who attended a sports symposium in New York on Wednesday where the six TV spots, eight radio ads and print ads were unveiled.

Times staff writer Alan Abrahamson contributed to this story.