Olympic athletes have become a hot commodity on Madison Avenue as the world gears up for this summer's games in Brazil.
Visa, a longtime sponsor of the event, tapped the star power of a whole athletic ensemble in its latest Olympics-centered ad campaign, which premiered this week.
SEE ALSO:Olympians say thank you to their moms in touching new ad campaignIn one of the commercials, which is debuting below, volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings shuts down a series of increasingly indulgent shopping suggestions from track star and Olympic hopeful English Gardner -- only to leave the store with a giant stuffed bear.
The commercial is the product of a partnership between Costco and Visa that gives the credit card company exclusive province over all of Costco's checkout counters. It marks the big-box retailer's first foray into national television advertising.
Another spot, which aired during Game 7 of the NBA finals on Sunday, features a host of Olympic hopefuls taking a whimsical road trip to Rio.
With a rapt audience of hundreds of millions of TV viewers, the Olympics is an important stage for advertisers looking to reach a global crowd. A new rule change by the International Olympic Committee is also giving brands that aren't official sponsors more leeway in how they can advertise around the event.
For Visa, which sat out the Super Bowl commercials this year, the games are its biggest advertising event of the year.
The company says it puts more emphasis on well-rounded appeal and diversity than simple popularity when sizing up Olympic talent.
"Our entire creative thrust was focused on the concept of acceptance," says Visa's chief brand and innovation marketing officer, Chris Curtin.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
TopicsOlympicsAdvertising
(责任编辑：焦點)
Over 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern CaliforniaFor millennials, sending your first text message was a rite of passageThis old poem about plums has been turned into a hilariously nerdy meme
Britney Spears sells original watercolor painting for $10,000
Felix the cat just raised £5000 for charity because she's the hero we all needAmazon's Echo made controlling music with your voice easy-peasy, but its sound quality could be a lo
...[详细]Disney is giving us a Star Wars TV show, plus more movies from Lucasfilm
Star Wars fans have been waiting for a live-action TV show for so long, they never would have guesse
...[详细]Elon Musk: The Boring Company will bid to build high
Elon Musk wants to bring high-speed "loop" transport to Chicago — and instead of just declarin
...[详细]This live TV celebrity eating challenge is the stuff of nightmares
You know that "Fill Your Guts or Spill Your Guts" game James Corden sometimes plays on his show, whe
...[详细]Despite IOC ban, Rio crowds get their political messages across
The Olympics aren't meant to be a place for political expression -- the International Olympic Commit
...[详细]'Borat' star sends glorious offer to men arrested for wearing mankinis
Borat。was an eye-opening film in many ways, but there were two things in particular that it really h
...[详细]Your commute just turned into a workout session on this train
The "Idea Train" is pulling into the station and with it comes workout stations, a children's lounge
...[详细]iFixit releases incredible see
The hardest part of buying a shiny new iPhone X isn't paying it off, but picking a wallpaper to plas
...[详细]The U.S. will no longer have the final say on internet domain names
The National Telecommunications Information Admistration (NTIA) announced via。 blog post 。on Tuesday
...[详细]Google Maps reveals Disney tried to hide the Millennium Falcon with shipping containers
You may be able to hide from people on the ground, but Google Maps sees all.
。The movie industry trie
...[详细]Tourist survives for month in frozen New Zealand wilderness after partner dies
Horrific 2017 Atlantic hurricane season ends with many still reeling