ADC Awards
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Learn more about ADC105
Category
Direct / Wildcard
Annual ID
ADC104_ADV022S
Background
The Olympic Games generate $13,000,000,000 in revenue for the International Olympic Committee, celebrities and advertisers. But the same can’t be said of the athletes who participate in the games. With strict rules from the IOC preventing brands from sponsoring them, athletes miss out on lucrative endorsement opportunities, often leading them to huge financial burdens. With a significant time and monetary investment going into their training year over year, athletes find themselves struggling with debt and are forced to take on additional jobs to make supplemental income.
As an official sponsor of Team Canada during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Molson wanted to find a way to directly support athletes, and help rectify this glaring financial issue. Because of the IOC rules, we knew we would have to find a loophole to get them paid. Enter: their parents.
As an official sponsor of Team Canada during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Molson wanted to find a way to directly support athletes, and help rectify this glaring financial issue. Because of the IOC rules, we knew we would have to find a loophole to get them paid. Enter: their parents.
Creative Idea
Instead of signing the athletes to endorsement deals, we signed their parents, allowing us to funnel the sponsorship money through the parents directly to the Team Canada athletes. The parents did everything that would normally be included in a sponsorship—they starred in an OLV commercial wearing Molson-branded gear, created their own social content, and participated in interviews on home soil and in Paris. We also worked with media partners to find targeted OOH in their hometowns, so that their local communities could join in and rally behind the athletes and their families.
Insights & Strategy
This unique sponsorship of the parents flipped the average Olympics campaign on its head. Molson gave families a platform to share stories of how they’ve supported their Olympian on the road to Paris, and more importantly, it allowed us to shine light on the financial discrepancy that exists for the athletes. For those few weeks where the Games took over everyone’s TVs, news and social media feeds, the parents were able to discuss the pay gap that exists for their hardworking athletes, and contribute to their road to success through their own endorsement deals.
Execution
We contracted the parents as if they were influencers in an endorsement deal and featured them across various touchpoints of the program. This included OLV, OOH, organic social and earned media. We created a specific Molson branded wardrobe for the parents to wear to represent the beer brand, as well as their Team Canada athletes. The spot ran throughout the Olympic Games and these executions were further bolstered by personalized social content filmed by the parents, and interviews with media that took place in Paris.
Results
In terms of financial impact, through their parents Molson contributed $15K to each athlete that participated, and generated visibility across CBC Gem, social media, PR and OOH placements. We were able to reach millions in the process, garnering a total of 38.9 million impressions across the various media placements. We gained buzz on social media, obtaining hundreds of new followers and attention from athletes such as Larissa Franklin, Tyler Mislawchuk, and Hannah Taylor. By funneling sponsorship money through the parents, we got deserving athletes paid and helped them take home more than just medals.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 21
Silver Cube
Credits
Agency
Rethink / Toronto
Media Agency
Publicis
Client
Sofia Colucci
Leslie Malcolm
Kara Fitzpatrick
Maddie Gillmeister
Kristin Lucente
Thomas Tawaststjerna
Larissa Fernandez
Brit Guthrie
Marlie McLaughlin
Maya McDonald
Tiffany Luong
Client / Brand
Molson Coors Beverage Company
Production Company
Asymetric
Music / Sound Production Company
OSO Audio
Post Production Company
Saints Editorial
Darling VFX
Art Director
Mat Cruz
Associate Creative Director
Mat Cruz
Alex Smith
Chief Creative Officer
Mike Dubrick
Chief Strategy Officer
Sean McDonald
Copywriter
Alex Smith
Creative Director
Karine Doucet
Director
Kacper Larski
Director of Photography
Bryn McCashin
Editor
Christopher Chiang
Executive Creative Director
Xavier Blais
Global Chief Creative Officer
Aaron Starkman
Group Creative Director
Robbie Percy
Caroline Friesen
Photographer
Janick Laurent
Assistant Editor
Aj Lawrence
Executive Producer
Evan Landry
Ashley Barth
Mackenzie Goodwin
Kristen Van Fleet
Lauren Dobbie
Group Strategy Director
Crystal Sales
Account Director
Jia Cau
Account Supervisor
Samantha Fabro
Associate Director of Integrated Production
Kate A. Spencer
Associate Media Director
Ian Hall
Audio Engineer
Leo Hicks
Brand Executive Producer
Lori Estabrooks
Colourist
Kassi Bellamy
Flame Artist
Alexa Salsberg
Group Account Director
Michelle Corsbie
Montcalm Dylan
Group Business Lead
Shar Khursigara
Line Producer
Phillip Sywash
Media Manager
Maddie Matson
Media Planner
Justin Gonzales
PR Account Director
Kristel Dupont
PR Coordinator
Sara Zivkovic
Mégane Landry
Janvi Singh
PR Group Account Director
Matt Milne
public relations
Sara Lemmermeyer
Public Relations Specialist
Tara Lush-Benson
Senior Broadcast Producer
Shannon Farrell
Senior Media Planner
Penny Pensotes
Stills Production Company
Coup and Co.
Studio Manager
Todd Bennett
Voice Director
Katie Corbridge
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