Snoop, Biles and Lyles: Olympic Moments That Transcend Games and Take off on Social
Image source: Amada MA via Unsplash
New data from SAMY Alliance, the fast-growing, social-first agency group, has revealed the 'Top 10 Social Media Moments Of The Olympic Games’, as ‘The Summer of Sport’ draws to a close.
US gymnastics sensation and Olympic GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Simone Biles came out on top again. The moment that she and fellow American, Jordan Chiles, bowed to Rebecca Andrade after the latter won gold in the Floor Exercise, was the most talked about social media moment of the games with even Barack Obama getting involved in the conversation.
Biles picked up social media silver with her record breaking gold in the All Round, ranking second in SAMY Alliance’s 'Top 10 Social Media Moments Of The Olympic Games’. Shooter Yusuf Dekic completed the social media podium after turning up at the 10m air pistol with little to no specialist equipment, looking like “a hitman”.
'Top 10 Social Media Moments Of The Olympic Games’ were:
Position in terms of volume of social conversation | Social Media Moments Of The Olympic Games’ | Number of Social Media Posts - monitored for 48 hours after each moment happened | Sentiment |
1 | Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bow to gold medallist Rebecca Andrade | 365,400 (across X, Facebook, Instagram) | 52.93% of posts were “positive” |
2 | 171,000 | 50.46% of posts were “positive” | |
3 | Yusuf Dekic wins silver in the 10m air pistol with no specialist equipment | 132,000 | 36.75% of posts were “positive” |
4 | 126,000 | 49.98% of posts were “positive” | |
5 | 46,500 | 28.78% of posts were “positive” | |
6 | Snoop Dogg steals the show at The Olympic Dressage in full-kit | 37,600 | 18.5% of posts were “positive” |
7 | 36,700 | 49.88% of posts were “positive” | |
8 | 16,600 | 57.64% of posts were “positive” | |
9 | Anthony Ammirati faces pole vault elimination as a result of his ‘large package’ | 9,710 | 28.59% of posts were "positive" |
10 | 3,640 | 33.86% of posts were "positive" |
SAMY Alliance number crunchers and sport experts identified a long list of Olympic highlights over the course of the Pars games by analysing traditional media coverage and Google Trends data. For each highlight they then measured the volume of social media chatter (English language only) to come up with their very own ranking of the top ten Olympics moments that best capture the online zeitgeist.
It wasn’t just individual sporting success that caught the attention of social media users. Rapper and Martha Stewart’s BFF Snoop Dogg 'dropped it like it’s hot', turning up in full dressage kit at the equestrian, getting social media talking; though perhaps not in a good way, with fewer than 20% of posts being “positive” around Snoop’s attire.
And spare a thought for Anthony Ammirati and his exit from the pole vault - his manhood sparked a social media frenzy when it denied him gold.
Paula Irigaray, research and insights director at SAMY Alliance commented on the findings, “Much of the build up to the Olympics was a bit flat compared to previous years, with a lot of talk around how the Games was failing to resonate with younger audiences. However, once the event started, it soon started to generate social media gold!
“This was mainly due to the Games creating “moments” that transcend sport, and have an impact on the social and cultural zeitgeist and get people talking. Some are funny, some are moving, and some represent the pinnacle of sport and many will live on in the collective global memory.
“Social listening and data analysis of conversations online, gives us real clarity on the moments that cut through on social media platforms. The Olympics play out both in the real world and online and there is a subtle difference in the moments that take off and resonate in each arena.”
