BBC Tokyo Olympics: The anatomy of a campaign

Sookio Bootcamp 2021 graduate Lucy Cooper analyses the success behind the BBC Tokyo Olympics #LetsGoThere ad campaign which punctuated the channel’s fortnight of coverage.

There are few events that can hold the public’s attention in quite the way that the Olympics does.

The seventeen days of sporting excellence captivates the widest audience imaginable, and BBC Creative, the in-house marketing agency behind the BBC Tokyo Olympics advertising trailer, grabbed this exciting opportunity with both hands.

Teaming up with production companies Nexus Studios and Factory Fifteen, the resulting one-minute video squeezes in hundreds of Tokyo-shaped quirks and Easter eggs, with a mix of original artwork and live action video.

An Olympic-sized mix of music and visuals

When watching the video, you can’t help but get sucked into the Olympic fever.

The soundtrack, written by famed Anime composer Kenji Kawai, feeds into the inspiring and uplifting atmosphere that the Olympics so easily brings.

This sense of optimism and hype is shown as the camera pans through the city of Tokyo, making the most of the busy energy, and capitalising on the Japanese pop culture recognisable across the globe.

Whether it be shots of video game arcades with Britain’s greatest boxers taking centre stage, or a ceramic Jason Kenny sitting on the shelf in a bedroom illuminated by the city lights, British sporting excellence is deeply intertwined within the city and its iconic features.

This mix of Tokyo iconography and innovative video design was not stumbled upon by chance.

The video features original artwork designed by Nexus Studios – something this independent studio specialises in. Alongside Factory Fifteen, the directors of the video, the two production companies helped make BBC Creative’s vision into a reality.

Factory Fifteen is a video agency that uses architecture at the forefront of their work, making them the perfect option for a film based around a culturally rich city like Tokyo.

Together, by partnering with Japanese artist Fantasista Utamaro, they succeeded in creating an authentic look into the Olympic city.

Did the campaign achieve its goals?

In this one-minute video, the city of Tokyo is truly brought to life, with the sports and athletes cunningly woven into its very fabric.

It’s about inspiring people whilst keeping the essence of Tokyo throughout, and there is no doubt the campaign does this.

Capitalising on the Japanese capital’s technological nature, the team have been able to encompass all of the frenzy of the city, alongside the Olympics’ nature of optimism and inspiration. Paired with the uplifting soundtrack, it’s a combination well done.

There’s no doubt it’s an interesting case study to consider – as one of the most famous events in the world, the task of the marketing agency is not necessarily to get the viewers in, but to harness the very feelings the sporting tournament elicits.

BBC Creative are often tasked with these great projects; recent work including the Euro 2020 or BBC Radio 2 as an entire entity. They know what is necessary to succeed with such well-known focuses, and this Olympics campaign is no different.

Their ask to the viewers was simple – watch and support the Olympics through the BBC. In creating this successful video, they consolidate the BBC as the ‘place to go’ for the Olympics, and sports coverage as a whole – essentialising the Tokyo Olympics with the BBC.

It’s not a numbers game… or is it…

It is difficult to measure this campaign on numbers alone.

Racking up over 1 million views on YouTube, there’s no doubt it has had relative online success. However, this video wasn’t made purely for internet consumption.

Premiering during the England vs Germany Euro 2020 football game – a fixture that boasted 20 million viewers – it started on a high, and went on to punctuate the main event, being played throughout the Olympic coverage, both online and on TV.

Over 36 million people tuned into BBC competition coverage over the seventeen days. The creators were well aware of this exposure, and the fact that it would be shown across multiple channels multiple times a day.

They wanted the ad to be a rewarding experience each play, with every viewing offering a new little hidden gem to notice for the first time. This helps explain the eclectic and intricate nature of the video… but also explains the satisfying feel every time you watch the clip.

Not every viewer awarded #LetsGoThere gold

Of course, very few campaigns on this scale will come away without any negative sentiment.

The video was based quite heavily off Japanese pop culture stereotypes, and this was a sticking point for some social media users, particularly in comments on YouTube.

Alongside more general fears about whether the Olympics should even be taking place under the cloud of Covid-19, the video did not come away completely scot free. However, many Japanese people have voiced their support for the advert, and the production agencies worked closely with people across the city to ensure the ideas in the video were truly reflective of their culture.

Did the BBC score a personal best?

Sure, perhaps in future campaigns the agency might be a bit more wary to try and avoid any obvious stereotypes, but the vibrancy and the impact of the mixed media should not be forgotten about.

BBC Creative, Nexus Studios and Factory Fifteen created an innovative campaign, which brought the hustle and bustle of Tokyo to the inspiring atmosphere of the Olympic games.

Recognising the repetitive nature of a TV advert, they stuffed it with Easter eggs and surprises, and for many, will be a reminder of the success of a rather unusual Olympic games.

This piece was written by one of the students on our second Sookio Bootcamp, a week of remote work experience for 20 young marketers. Take a look at last year’s brilliant posts on campaigns from Nike, Bodyform, and Iceland.