Olympic marketers crank up the music
Rolling Stones chosen for high-profile spots
Some of this summer’s ads tap into Baby Boomer nostalgia,
One of the highest-profile advertisers for the London Games, official time-keeper Omega, is linking up for the Summer Games with one of London’s highest-profile rock legends: The Rolling Stones.
The featured song in the spot — which links, with a wink, to the very notion of what an official Olympic time-keeper does — Start Me Up. A different version of the song was used by Microsoft in a splashy commercial for its 1995 launch of Windows.
Olympic advertisers from Omega to Coca-Cola are increasingly turning to music to attract consumer attention. Just as contemporary music can connect free-spending teens to marketers, nostalgic tunes can connect well-heeled Boomers to advertisers.
“Using the right song in an ad makes the spot more memorable, and frankly, can turn a good spot into a classic,” says Devin Lasker, chief imagination officer at Primary Wave Music, a large music publisher unassociated with the Omega spot. “Music helps tell the story.”
Never mind that several members of The Rolling Stones, who have been together since 1962, are in their 60s. While they don’t physically appear in the spot — only their voices do — the commercial casts them as singing symbols of this year’s Olympic home team.
“Just as the Beatles represent the Liverpool scene, the Rolling Stones represent the London scene of the ’60s, ’70s and beyond,” says Omega President Stephen Urquhart. “We’re really tapping into London
“Using the right song . . . can turn a good spot into a classic.”
Devin Lasker
and its musical heritage.”
The spot, which was filmed in Miami in February, will begin airing Friday in the U.S. market. It features several Olympic athletes, including U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin, sprinter Tyson Gay and pole vaulter Jenn Suhr. Each is shown concentrating one moment before their competition begins.
Omega will spend more on the filming and airing of this commercial than any other ad it’s ever created, says Urquhart. “In the eight figures,” he estimates.
He declined to say how much the Rolling Stones were paid for rights to their song. But after a reporter estimated $500,000, Urquhart noted, “You’re not far off.”
Omega has company in mixing music and Olympic marketing.
Music is the central theme of Coca-Cola’s new Olympic campaign, dubbed “Move to the Beat,” to begin airing in late July in the U.S. Some of Coke’s Olympic advertising is now airing in London and is viewable on YouTube.
In one spot, the sounds of instruments are replaced by natural sounds of Olympic sports. The sound of an arrow hitting a target replaces a drum.
“We wanted to contemporize the Olympic Games,” says Claudia Navarro, global Olympic marketing director. “Music is what teens care about.”