AAMI Has Fun With Olympic Clichés

We’ve all seen Olympic ads which take a superstar athlete and show their progress through childhood from determined tot to world-beater. It’s a format that’s one of the sports ad cliches, mostly because it works. But it’s also ripe for a bit of humorous subversion, and that’s what Australian insurer AAMI delivers here, with one of the freshest and funniest Olympic ads we’ve seen.

At the beginning the ad looks like it’s proceeding along very familiar lines. Stirring music, and inspiring slow-motion shots of kids in training at home – getting ready to turn cartwheels, lift weights, fire a bow or practice a judo spin. So far so inspiring. But then disaster strikes – the bags of flour weights end up all over the patio; the judoka destroys a vase, the junior gymnast smashes a flatscreen TV. Fortunately there’s AAMI to pick up the pieces.

It’s a beautifully executed and well judged ad. UK readers will remember John Lewis Insurance causing a media storm showing a kid trashing a house while dancing, and eventually having to withdraw the ad; it’s easy to see how AAMI could have caused a similar negative reaction here. But the message in this commercial is obvious – these are kids pursuing their dreams, and sometimes that causes damage. The child actors are adorable, the destruction is framed as slapstick comedy, and the brand reveal works as a great punchline (without denting Brand Fluency – it’s still a Strong 92%).

Special mention should go to a really excellent use of music. A melodic, inspiring soundtrack always works well to get that all-important right-brained attention. Emerson, Lake And Palmer’s version of “Fanfare For The Common Man” fits that bill and works for the inspirational ad you think you’re getting, especially as it was used for decades to soundtrack Australia’s Olympics coverage. But the track shifts in tone from solemn classical piece to a 70s rock banger, and the ad times that shift exactly for the moment the kids’ efforts start to go wrong. You can see in the emotional trace how there’s a dip in happiness and then a big rise again, with the soundtrack expertly guiding viewers’ responses.

It means the second half of the ad gets more happiness than the first, an emotional shift which gives AAMI a 4.7-Star Rating, showing very strong potential to drive growth. The ad ends up having it both ways – it taps into growing Olympic anticipation, and it also punctures the pomposity of the typical sport ad. The kids’ efforts may end in disaster, but AAMI’s ad pulls off its tricky move with style.