Durban Sandshark Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 When I first became a member on these boards almost four years, I noticed over the years there really hasn't been any discussion of your favorite Olympic TV commercials (or promos outside of Ceremonies on YouTube). Let's start that now with Beijing 2008 coming up! You can bring it up descriptions of your commercials from around the world from years gone by. By this, I'm referring usually to ones that have an Olympic theme or from Olympic sponsors in them. I'll think of mine as we go along. If there's YouTube-able, we'll link 'em! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 My favorite was the Bank of America ads run in 2002 showing employees performing winter Olympic disciplines, I really liked the speed skater who went straight into the wall and over. My least favorite, also from 2002, were the Chevrolet ads with the two guys, among other stunts, trying to get Michelle Kwan to end her routine in a way that the Chevy logo gets noticed behind her. i wonder if that inspired that idiot with his Golden Palace ads at venues and then disrupting the closing ceremony at Torino. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Because the BBC show the Olympic Games here, we dont really have many Olympic commercials, probably just McDonalds doing a promotion. Maybe if you go back abit to the eighties when commercial tv covered the games aswell as the BBC there might be some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 My favorite was the Bank of America ads run in 2002 showing employees performing winter Olympic disciplines, I really liked the speed skater who went straight into the wall and over.My least favorite, also from 2002, were the Chevrolet ads with the two guys, among other stunts, trying to get Michelle Kwan to end her routine in a way that the Chevy logo gets noticed behind her. i wonder if that inspired that idiot with his Golden Palace ads at venues and then disrupting the closing ceremony at Torino. I liked that one too out of the Bank of America 2002 series. For all of the Olympic aspirations that may had once held in their youth, this obviously show that they should just keep to their day jobs. Those Chevrolet guys were annoying. Always wanting product placement for their company. Michelle had one shot of her looking at them turning her head thinking I don't wanna do this for them but relents. It looked like Kwan was going to do The Chomp when presenting the logo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Because the BBC show the Olympic Games here, we dont really have many Olympic commercials, probably just McDonalds doing a promotion. Maybe if you go back abit to the eighties when commercial tv covered the games aswell as the BBC there might be some. It doesn't have to have aired on the BBC (or any Olympic TV network rights holder) to qualify for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I was trying to find one of the Aussie "funnies" _ the Smiths Crisps ad during Athens with the workers sitting on building equipment in the unfinished stadium eating chips as a track event starts around them _ but I couldn't find it on YouTube any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Found it for ya, Sir Roltel! Really damn funny! (stadium is actually Telstra Stadium filmed of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Dream Team flashback: A 1992 McDonald's commercial starring Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and Chris Mullin promoting the Dream Team cups with each player on it. There was actually another one for this, but that hasn't been uploaded as of yet. Now why His Royal Airness decided to do his speaking bit at a McDonald's restaurant instead of on the court with Mullin and Ewing is beyond me. Full disclosure: I actually have a three of those cups--Jordan, Pippen, and Barkley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattygs Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 I dunno why, but when I was a bit younger I always used to like the Cadbury tv ad, with the choral kind of music, and the milk filling up a chocolate mould of the Olympic rings like an ocean. haha. It was a pretty basic ad, but was cool. Back in 2000, Air New Zealand also put out a nice variation of their tv ad. Traditionally, it had the little Maori girl dressed in a white dress in different locations around the world, ending in her standing on a beach carrying a piece of driftwood/stick with the Air NZ *pacific wave* blue ribbons tied onto it - with Pokarekare Ana being sung in the background. The variation for Sydney was the stick being replaced with the Sydney Olympic torch (still wif ribbons) at the end. Actually, AIRNZ have had few ads. I remember prior to Sydney 2000 they ran the *everything will be perfect* tv ad. I spose you can't go past the old Maccaz tv ads wif Birdy, Grimmis, Hamburgler and Ronald. And Coca Cola always have good tv campaigns, I remember their one in 1996 (played in NZ at least) was the *Atlanta is Far... Cheer Loud* ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 Coca-Cola - winter games - Slow motion instant replay of bobsled team. classic. Bud Light - 1988 winter games - Spuds Mackenzie ski jumping. Absolutely hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 ^I wanted to add, Spuds Mackenzie Pole Vaulting: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 I hoped this 1992 McDonald's commercial saluting the US Olympian gold medalists was over at YouTube at the time of Al Oerter's death. But it was just in yesterday. It's also fine look back at Bob Matthias. There's also shots of Paul Gonzales. 1992 McDonald's US Gold Medal Olympians Salute Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Nike did a TV commercial that aired in Australia throughout Seven's coverage of the Sydney 2000 Olympics under the title of "Sorry", featuring top-notch Australian athletes endorsed by the company like Lauren Jackson, Michelle Timms, Steve Moneghetti, Cathy Freeman, Shane Warne, and Georgie Clarke. This reminds me of a series of TV commercials Nike made for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Those prominently featured US Olympians at the time Andre Agassi, Dream Teamers signed to Nike (Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Reggie Miller, David Robinson, Anfernee Hardaway, and Gary Payton), Lisa Leslie, Tom Dolan, and German marathoner Uta Pipping. All of them had a mother commercial with their montages with EMF's cover of Iggy Pop's "Search and Destroy" used. They were controversial for their taglines like "You win silver, you lose gold" and "If you're not out here to win, you're a tourist". I'll see if they're there on You Tube. Coca-Cola's commercials during Atlanta weren't neccessarily about the Olympics during NBC's broadcast of them. During the 90s the company aired a whole smattering of diverse commercials in order to attract a general range of consumers. With that in mind, various Coca-Cola commercials from around the world were aired from the likes India, Australia, and Great Britain under the "Always Coca-Cola" campaign. More on that later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted February 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Australia was training hard for the 1984 LA Olympics, but they needed the Aussie public's money, not government assistance, to go far back then. Help them do so with the help of Willy the Koala. Where there's a Will, There's a Way to LA 1984 Campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Australia was training hard for the 1984 LA Olympics, but they needed the Aussie public's money, not government assistance, to go far back then. Help them do so with the help of Willy the Koala.Where there's a Will, There's a Way to LA 1984 Campaign. LOL _ I don't remember that one at all. Must have been made before the Soviets decided to boycott _ did you notice the USSR athlete in the cartoon? Thanks for that link, DS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted February 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 LOL _ I don't remember that one at all. Must have been made before the Soviets decided to boycott _ did you notice the USSR athlete in the cartoon?Thanks for that link, DS! Yep, that was correct! Cheesy all the way in dialouge and presentation. I saw the Soviet bear tossing up the shot put as Willy looked through the binoculars to LA. Either that was dropped as soon as the Soviets boycotted or re-edited since that. I never touched down in Australia and watched TV down there, so I have no true way of knowing... I was expecting an appearance of the vintage AOF logo in the PSA--the one with the two boomerangs interlocking with the Olympic rings. Why was Willy dropped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Does anyone who watched ABC's telecast of the 1984 LA Olympics saw those series of commercials heavily promoting Saudi Arabia, its soccer team in particular? Those commercials made it look like a travel commission one, as if it's a great place to travel to, except for the severe restrictions. As we know now, when the Saudis made their Olympic soccer debut, they flopped badly in all of their games there in LA against Brazil, Morocco, and Germany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I do remember those Saudi ads. That's actually remarkable because I tuned out the 84 games after a few days because of ABC's less than objective presentation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micheal_warren Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 I dunno why, but when I was a bit younger I always used to like the Cadbury tv ad, with the choral kind of music, and the milk filling up a chocolate mould of the Olympic rings like an ocean. haha. It was a pretty basic ad, but was cool.Back in 2000, Air New Zealand also put out a nice variation of their tv ad. Traditionally, it had the little Maori girl dressed in a white dress in different locations around the world, ending in her standing on a beach carrying a piece of driftwood/stick with the Air NZ *pacific wave* blue ribbons tied onto it - with Pokarekare Ana being sung in the background. The variation for Sydney was the stick being replaced with the Sydney Olympic torch (still wif ribbons) at the end. Actually, AIRNZ have had few ads. I remember prior to Sydney 2000 they ran the *everything will be perfect* tv ad. I spose you can't go past the old Maccaz tv ads wif Birdy, Grimmis, Hamburgler and Ronald. And Coca Cola always have good tv campaigns, I remember their one in 1996 (played in NZ at least) was the *Atlanta is Far... Cheer Loud* ads. I remember that Air New Zealand Ad for the 2000 olympic games. It was very good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 That's actually remarkable because I tuned out the 84 games after a few days because of ABC's less than objective presentation. Well, what would you have called a more 'objective presentation' when the host nation went on to win 83 gold medals and I don't know how many more of the silvers and the bronzes? Was it ABC's fault that the Russians and east Germans didn't come? Should ABC NOT have shown Americans competing at their best to American TV audiences? Keep the American viewers in the dark AND screw the sponsors!! Good idea. Gee, based on your sentiments at the time, BT, maybe the IOC shouldn't allow the host countries to automatically field a team in the 'team sports' because it would be too partial to the hosts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted March 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Well, what would you have called a more 'objective presentation' when the host nation went on to win 83 gold medals and I don't know how many more of the silvers and the bronzes? Was it ABC's fault that the Russians and east Germans didn't come? Should ABC NOT have shown Americans competing at their best to American TV audiences? Keep the American viewers in the dark AND screw the sponsors!! Good idea. Gee, based on your sentiments at the time, BT, maybe the IOC shouldn't allow the host countries to automatically field a team in the 'team sports' because it would be too partial to the hosts? I know it wasn't also McDonald's fault almost all of the communist countries stayed home--and it lost tons of money in its If the US Wins, You Win sweepstakes of course. The notorious ABC 1984 coverage in Los Angeles obviously prompted the IOC to mandate a more objective world feed operated at the hands of the host organizing committees. Recall Daley Thompson's T-shirt in his victory lap that read "Thanks America for A Great Games And A Good Time...But What About The Television Coverage?". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 I know it wasn't also McDonald's fault almost all of the communist countries stayed home--and it lost tons of money in its If the US Wins, You Win sweepstakes of course.The notorious ABC 1984 coverage in Los Angeles obviously prompted the IOC to mandate a more objective world feed operated at the hands of the host organizing committees. Recall Daley Thompson's T-shirt in his victory lap that read "Thanks America for A Great Games And A Good Time...But What About The Television Coverage?". Here's the thing. Initially, even when Samaranch complained -- apparently he was seeing the US feed from his battery of monitors in his hotel room. It had been mistakenly fed to his suite at the Biltmore. The error was quickly corrected. So Daley was misinformed as well. Did they not cover the decathlon well? Let's update my supposition. Flash-foward to China 2008. I imagine there will be Chinese entries in EVERY discipline this year. So, for the Chinese feed, China TV should NOT show their atheltes -- losing or winning -- because it would be too partial? If you are the broadcaster for the HOST country, I really DON'T see how you CANNOT telecast your athletes competing (and praising them in the process). So Brazil doesn't do it? Russia wouldn't do it? Please, That's why you paid the BIG buckaroos. If you don't want a patriotic coverage, then go to another country for those weeks and appreciate the coverage from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Well, what would you have called a more 'objective presentation' when the host nation went on to win 83 gold medals and I don't know how many more of the silvers and the bronzes? Was it ABC's fault that the Russians and east Germans didn't come? Should ABC NOT have shown Americans competing at their best to American TV audiences? Keep the American viewers in the dark AND screw the sponsors!! Good idea. Gee, based on your sentiments at the time, BT, maybe the IOC shouldn't allow the host countries to automatically field a team in the 'team sports' because it would be too partial to the hosts? It was the first summer games that I was going to be able to follow with any depth. I sat down to watch the Olympic Games as was treated to the National Sports Festival. Predictable, yes, given the absence of the majority of the Soviet-bloc, but the way the ABC announcers carried on they might just have well worn USA team uniforms. Some of us do care about all the athletes and all the nations, and not just our own. They are no less Olympian than the much more heralded stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 Besides Baron, I was 16 years old at the time and I didn't give a care what sponsors might have thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 Besides Baron, I was 16 years old at the time and I didn't give a care what sponsors might have thought. Without whom you would not get to watch Olympic coverage free of charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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