Super Bowl or Olympics?

The biggest brands are fighting it out. Not only during the Super Bowl for your attention but between the Super Bowl or the Winter Olympic Games.

Imagine buying media in the Olympic Games with its two-week attention-captivating, live television broadcast. Nothing happens on TV when the Olympics are happening. They dominate everything as everyone is tuned in the the games. And this year it’s all prime-time coverage from Korea. 

These larger than life extravaganzas offer brands unmatched marketing opportunities to advertise during must-watch, extraordinarily dramatic, live television.

Every four years these two mammoth sporting events jostle for the biggest and most iconic advertisers around.

You may love hockey over football, or prefer the dazzling opening ceremonies to the half-time show featuring Justin Timberlake. Historically it hasn’t been a winner-takes-all bet. Both the Olympics and Super Bowl have been fantastic platforms for hundreds of millions of viewers.

This year however the NFL was singled out by the a President for numerous tweets and as a result a cloud has been hanging over the game throughout the season. The NFL and the media industry both hope the Super Bowl will finally usher in a brighter day. Knowing sport history, the NFL will bounce back, people will reignite their love of the game and all will be well.  

Yet this year may see a little more shine on the Winter Games now that North and South Korea are playing nicely together. But mark my words, just you wait until the figure skating stars take to the ice, the speed skaters edge out their opponents, the skiers fly down the slopes. All hell will break loose. And this year, in 2018, for the first time in many years unprofessional College hockey players will be the stars of the rink since the NHL decided to bow out of the Games due to contract issues. I’m ok with that. 

Both events are a load of fun and the biggest, not to be missed marketing moments. At StrawberryFrog we love both events though we advised our clients to lean into the Winter Games this time. Something tells me that in 2018, the advertisers that decided to go with the Olympic Games may well shine a little brighter.