Sometimes the Olympic are a lot like the Super Bowl, with fans watching the commercials as intently as the game.
Among my marketing professional friends, best and worst commercial discussions are daily repertoire during the 16 days of these ‘24 games.
Luckily a quick query today for bloggers ranking their least and most favorite today turned up one that I’ve missed (at least thus far) and found super impressive.
Knix, an underwear brand that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of, likely because I’m not their target demographic (their web traffic skews 80% female age 25-34), conceived an awesome commercial designed to reach their customers through all of the athletes they respect by contractually engaging with just one who isn’t even competing this year (retired soccer legend Megan Rapinoe).
Their spot is perfectly placed in front of millions of admiring girls and teens who struggle with their monthly realities of what to wear, when to go and whether to participate in sports, in school, in life.
Their spot, you see, notes that 1 in 2 teens skip school during their period and drop out of sports they love because they are ashamed of something normal.
Their spot calls out what every woman does but none want to talk about then presents a challenge to professional female athletes everywhere: use your voice.
Their spot takes the initiative and offers to pay athletes $1000 CAD per mention (and up to $2000 per athlete) simply to reference “competing on their period.” Statically 25% of female Olympians could fit this bill, though with birth control medications and endurance training it is likely fewer. Nonetheless, the challenge isn’t limited to women who are on their period. The challenge is to get athletes to talk about competing on their period in an effort to help young girls and teens understand that this is acceptable and shouldn’t get in the way of reaching their goals.
What’s exciting about their spot is the potential for it to get traction long after the games, through November 1 of this year according to the T&Cs.
I hope that you’ll take time to watch their spot, Sport Your Period, and then, more importantly, watch with me to see what kind of audience engagement they are able to generate. This should be a fun and admirable model for young ladies and marketers everywhere.
This blog was contributed by Jennifer Koon, Principal of Michael Mackenzie Communications.