Why Molson Sponsored the Parents of Team Canada at This past Olympic Games
While Olympic season was still going on, undoubtedly, we saw our fair share of sports ads focusing on celebrating athletes. It makes sense, naturally. They’re the heroes, the focal point of the event, and the ones who are expected to perform on the big stage by delivering performances worthy of entire countries. However, everyone already knows this. It’s nice to see one or two glossy spots celebrating elite athleticism, but after a while, the message is so hammered in that it just becomes overkill.
So, keenly aware of this fact, when tasked with creating a campaign as ‘The Official Beer of Team Canada’, Molson and partner creative agency Rethink decided to take a slightly different approach. Sure, their campaign, which combined OOH and a hero spot, was all about celebrating the elite prowess of national heroes… but in this case, that meant the actual parents of the Olympians – an often uncelebrated demographic who nevertheless plays a pivotal role in ensuring their children get into the position to compete in the first place.
Opting to offer paid sponsorships to nine moms and dads of Team Canada, this collaboration saw them do everything from sign contracts and receive special uniforms to star in commercial and documentary content, much like a professional athlete would do. All summed up nicely in the 45-second spot, the campaign served as a fun reminder to consider all that it takes to get an athlete to the games, and as a fun subversion from the Olympic ads one might have expected to see.
To learn more about how this came to life, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Rethink group creative director Robbie Percy, and Molson™ and Economy Brands’ marketing director, Kara Fitzpatrick, for a chat.
LBB> Creating an Olympic-themed campaign is no small task. What was the brief, and why was this something the brand wanted to do?
Kara> Molson has proudly been ‘The Official Beer of Team Canada’ and long-time partner of Team Canada for decades, so it was important the brand showed up in a big way to support the team at Paris 2024. When it came to the brief, Molson is steadfastly focused on connections and inviting ‘Everyone In’, so our mandate to Rethink was to think beyond athletes as the focal point of an Olympics campaign, while still celebrating Team Canada.
LBB> Where did the idea of celebrating the parents of Olympians come from? And why was this the right creative approach for the brand?
Kara> In the spirit of ‘Everyone In’, this year, we wanted to make a genuine impact on the Team Canada community beyond partnerships that we’ve done with athletes in the past. That’s why we decided to bring their parents into the spotlight.
‘Sponsor The Parents’ was born out of an appreciation for these heroes of Team Canada who often go unrecognised. Everyone understands how difficult and rewarding it is to be a parent, including the additional financial pressure it takes to raise an elite athlete. We wanted to acknowledge that unwavering commitment through paid endorsement deals, putting a well-deserved spotlight on those who are often on the sidelines.
LBB> How did you get the parents on board? What was reaching out to them and working with them like?
Robbie> Once we had the creative idea locked, our partners at the Canadian Olympic Committee introduced us to a number of Team Canada parents with kids in a variety of sports. From that initial email introduction, the parents were all so surprised and honoured to be approached by such an iconic brand for a sponsorship. Even though this was a new and uncharted territory for all of them - since they’re usually the ones on the sidelines - there was zero hesitation from anyone. Their enthusiasm and excitement was off the charts, and it really came through in the spot and OOH ads!
LBB> Tell us more about the endorsement deals you gave the parents. What did you include?
Kara> Our paid endorsement deals came with many of the perks that a pro athlete would receive. For our parents who lived outside of the Greater Toronto Area (the Clays, Di Stasios, Wogs and Lynda South-Simoneau), we flew them into Toronto, and provided private transportation from their hotels to the set and back. For Brian’s parents, who live in Richmond Hill, we provided a private car service to the set and back. And before starring in the commercial, our parents signed their official sponsorship contact.
After that, the parents also acted as Molson ambassadors for the duration of the games. They took part in media interviews and captured videos of their Paris 2024 experiences that were shared across Molson’s social channels. They were even featured on Team Canada’s social channels at the Canada Olympic House in Paris. And of course, we gave them Molson swag and beer!
LBB> The uniforms they received are awesome! Can you tell us more about what went into making these come to life?
Robbie> The uniforms took inspiration from some classic Olympic gear from the past and the response to them has been amazing. Whenever someone sees the campaign, one of the first things they say is ‘Where can I get those?’.
LBB> The main spot is hilarious! What was the writing process like? And why was doing a fake out the best course of action for the job?
Robbie> We decided to go with a ‘bait and switch’ approach because we felt like there was such a well-established formula for sports commercials that there was a great opportunity to subvert expectations and get an unexpected laugh.
In terms of the writing process, the most important thing for us was to nail that very typical Olympic tone and vibe so that we could turn it on its head. We’ve seen brands support the parents of Olympians before, so we wanted to make sure that we nailed the light-hearted comedic tone that you see in the spot to really set it apart.
LBB> Building on this, who directed, and what made them the right person for the job?
Robbie> The spot was directed by Kacper Larski from Asymetric, and the team did an amazing job.
Specifically, we loved Kacper because he’s the kind of director you’d hire to shoot a traditional sports or Olympic spot, so we felt like he could do an incredible job of setting up the bait and switch. And even though Kacper isn’t known for comedy, he showed a great instinct for subtle, underplayed humour on the day, while also making the spot look beautiful.
LBB> Tell us about your time on set! Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from the experience?
Robbie> It’s always a bit of a gamble when you shoot with real people, because you never know how they’re going to react when a camera is in front of them. But once the cameras started rolling, everything was so effortless and easy. The common experience of having Team Canada kids seemed to really give them a ‘We’re all in this together’ mindset and they all performed exceptionally well. Getting them to run, box, cheer, act like themselves – it was incredible.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Robbie> One of the hardest parts of the project was actually cutting the spot, because there was so much excellent footage… which really speaks volumes to how great this group of parents was.
LBB> Since launch, what has the response to the campaign been like?
Kara> From the priceless reactions of our nine sponsored parents when seeing the spot and out-of-home placements for the first time, to the celebratory social posts from their Team Canada kids praising both their parents and Molson, to the warm reception from the public for spotlighting an essential group of people who are so often in the background, the response to ‘Sponsor The Parents’ has been nothing short of incredible!
LBB> How does this fit into Molson’s branding for 2024 and beyond?
Kara> Molson is all about bringing ‘Everyone In’, and this initiative did just that. Fueled by its mission of inclusivity, we invited everyone to celebrate parents – a message that’s easy and meaningful to get behind.
LBB> Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the parents of Canadian Olympians?
Robbie & Kara> On behalf of everyone at Molson and Rethink, we’d like to send our warmest thanks and raise a toast in honour of all Team Canada parents and their contributions towards Canada’s success at the Games this year.
