Why are memes, not brands, taking all the Olympic glory?

From the French pole vaulter whose manhood came between him and a medal, to Simone Biles’ gold-winning make-up routine, it’s the Olympic memes this year that, arguably, get far more engagement and eyeballs than the official campaigns.

Throw in a bonkers opening ceremony, irreverent fan posts, athlete chocolate muffin appreciation, or a wedding ring lost in the Seine, and you have an idea of the kind of random, unpredictable Olympic content that races to virality gold, leaving brand efforts stuck on the starting blocks.

Think about it. Most Olympic viewers are not on social media discussing the merits of the latest Nike ad in the manner of advertising industry execs on LinkedIn. Although brands invest huge budgets in official sponsorships and the rights to include specific athletes, some of the best cultural conversation this year has been around the more spontaneous content.

Like the cool as a cucumber Turkish sharp-shooting silver medalist Yusuf Dikec who reminded people of John Wick in the guise of a middle-aged dad, or French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati, who went viral after his “bulge” got caught on the pole–and then replied with a TikTok of his own. 

We’ve also enjoyed the hilarious bespectacled, laconic US Pommel Horse Guy, people comparing themselves to athletes (and why they didn’t make the cut) and a whole host of memes surrounding Snoop Dogg as the hype man of the Olympics, living his best life. Not to mention the multiple opening ceremony memes; take your pick, but we like the woman who compared some dancers to her taking off her sports bra.  Even athletes themselves are content creators now, like Henrik Christiansen, the Norwegian swimmer who can’t stop eating chocolate muffins.

It’s a salutary lesson for sports brands. Already most marketers know that gone are the days when you could cut through with a glossy, big-budget TV ad featuring a top-level athlete battling to victory accompanied by suitably uplifting, anthemic music.

More recently, brands have run more nuanced campaigns around athletes, some focusing on mental health, but every elite athlete now seems to have been on a “journey”, so campaigns themed on their struggles now seem tired and ubiquitous too. (Even Nike’s campaign this year acknowledged, in defending the obsession that it takes to be a champion, that it’s not fashionable any more to talk about winning.)

Big-budget sponsorship deals, years of planning and overblown budgets have stifled creativity among sports brands. But I believe our industry can learn a lot from the spontaneity of social media creators and fans creating their own content. 

Not only is this kind of content more engaging and appealing to viewers, it’s not hard to turn around either. Anyone can jump on these golden memes; some of the tools everyday people can use include meme generators, Google presentations or even good old Instagram and Photoshop.

But what can else brands learn from these armchair creatives? First, leave some room (and budget) to respond to events as they unfold, while you can pre-plan reactive social content all you like around the tent pole events (like Simone Biles winning medals, for example). Nobody could have foreseen this year’s golden viral moments, or participants like “Bob the cap catcher,” the unknown in colourful swimming trunks who retrieved a hat from the Olympic pool, or the Chinese gymnast who became the internet mascot for little sisters. 

There’s always room for reaction in the moment. Brands with the best community management teams, like Aldi, Lidl and Duolingo, know this all too well, and are often the first to jump on memes with pithy comments. But you can get more creative with reactive video content. 

The beauty of memes is that they’re lo-fi, so this doesn’t need to be big budget, expensive or involve a high-profile agency or director. Remember that live TV is gold, but so is repurposed content, particularly  when the whole world is talking about it.

Second, don’t just focus on the big sports such as athletics and gymnastics: keep an eye on what’s going on in other disciplines and follow the social conversation around them closely. And ahead of the Games, why not keep a sharp eye out for the less obvious athletes competing – the GB skateboarding team, for example, included the famous Gen Z boarder Sky Brown but also 51-year-old Andy McDonald, who generated plenty of comment on social. 

So, as we look forward to the next Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, and on to LA 2028, smart brands and their agency partners can learn valuable lessons from Paris. Because those winning gold next time are likely to be the ones that are quick off the mark, responsive, unexpected and – necessarily–random. 

Adrienn Major is the founder of POD LDN