Torches and Tweets

By Steve Retka:

Between Shaun White’s high-flying acrobatics and the U.S. finally beating our neighbors to the north after 50 years, it’s been difficult to peel our attention away from our television sets. However, there have been some pretty impressive steps taken by NBC and the Olympians themselves to take Winter Olympic coverage to the Internet and social networking sites. And with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver coming to a close in less than a week, it may be a good time to look at these online developments.

The reason why these social media developments are so interesting is that these are the first Winter Olympics since Twitter was launched in 2006. And because social media (especially Twitter) has become so popular in our culture over the past couple of years, it was obvious the social network would have an impact on how we view the Olympics this year.

As expected, The massive hype surrounding these games have caused a huge spike in interest in following the competitors’ Twitter accounts, and one trend that has plagued athletes in the past has been false accounts being created in their name. Both NBC and Twitter have solved this by tracking and sorting all of the official Olympic Twitter accounts on a verified page.

Additionally, NBC created a visual Twitter tracker so fans can see which Olympic topics have been the most popular. Based on Twitter’s existing visual tracker, this version categorizes the topics by the specific sport (speed skating, snowboarding, etc.) with more specific topics and trends listed under them. Also, users can view how the different topics change and fluctuate over time.

All of these developments just go to show that there has been a greater focus on the individual athlete as opposed to nations as a whole with the 2010 Olympics than in the past. Whether it’s Apolo Ohno becoming the most decorated Winter Olympian in U.S. history or what fellow American speed-skater Chad Hedrick has planned for his day, the personal lives of these Olympic athlete’s seem to be taking the gold medal in the minds of social media users.

Olympic Commercial Roundup: Bronze Medallist Number 2

Great message, plus Morgan Freeman is narrating. Visa is everywhere I want to be.

Olympic Commercial Roundup: Bronze Medallist

I like the concept, and it also gave me a new perspective on men in skirts. Well done, GE!

Olympic Commercial Roundup: Second Silver Medallist

This Coca-Cola commercial has animated birds. And a doggie drinking with a straw. Need I say more?

Olympic Commercial Roundup: Silver Medallist

This AT&T commercial is simple and elegant. Great use of 30 second spot!

Olympic Commercial Roundup: Gold Medallist Number 2

Too bad it's for such an awful airline, because this commercial is sweet. Maybe they could re-direct some of their resources towards customer service?

Olympic Commercial Roundup: Gold Medallist

Well, the Olympics are over. Victories came not only for Phelps, but also for a handful of companies with distinguished commercials. So, in the spirit of the Olympics, here come six of the best commercials. We're awarding two golds, two silvers, and two bronzes, because hey, why not? Let's start off with my favorite, the Clydesdale training video by Anheuser-Busch.

Not A Whole Lotta Love

While some praised the UK's recent participation in the closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, many Chinese are being very critical of England's part in the handover performance. Chinese bloggers and news sources are complaining about most of the aspects of the ceremony. They are saying Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin's legendary guitarist who performed the band's hit "Whole Lotta Love") and singer Leona Lewis were not famous enough for Chinese viewers. They are saying David Beckham missed the spot in the crowd he was aiming for when kicking the soccer ball. They are also saying London's Mayor Boris Johnson was too casual with accepting the flag, even disrepecting the Chinese by "putting his hand in his pocket." One source said, "The British seem to like to laugh about their stupidity in a funny way" and that the performance was "beyond their comprehension."

While I understand that the Chinese display was nothing less than spectacular and mezmarizing (something to be proud of accomplishing), is this really the ending note that China wants to strike with London or the world's viewers? The Olympics are about unity and good sportsmanlike competition. No one liked to watch Bolt's overzealous and rude celebrations when he won his races (though no one denied he is fast). Once again, China had an opportunity for positive PR and respect from the world (which is the very thing they have been trying so hard to get throughout the Olympic Games) and in their attempt, they have cast a shadow on what would have been good.

Marketing Recap of the Olympics

Big winners and losers. Laura Ries has a detailed summary of what companies and individuals won big at the Olypics. From Michael Phelps to Liu Xiang. Well worth a read here.

Party Like It's 2012

The Beijing Olympics are officially over. Now we can get back to our normal lives...or start thinking about the 2012 summer Olympics in London. It didn't take long for London to roll out the online promotion for the 2012 games.

Below is a trailer for the video contest for the 2012 games.




Read about the official contest here.

How to create a parody video

1. Make sure it is relevant.
2. Make sure it is a topic that people are interested in watching.
3. Make it short.
4. Make it funny.

This video covers all four. Relevant because it just happened and the Olympics just finished. Numerous slide shows of the race have been posted on YouTube. It clocks in at 1:06, thus short. And finally, it is a funny idea.

Check it out.

Breaking Records

Not only were the Olympic Opening Ceremonies the most watched ever, but NBC is now reporting the most viewers for the Olympic Games in 18 years. During Michael Phelps record-breaking 8th Gold Medal win on Saturday night, NBC reported an average of 31.1 million viewers, the most for a Saturday night program since 1990.

Despite continued reports including staged production in the opening ceremonies, questions about the Chinese gymnasts' ages, and questionable human-rights practices in China, the Olympics continue to be a hot topic of conversation. Maybe there isn't such a thing as bad press.

All These Things Nike Has Done....

While watching the Olypmics, I have seen numerous commercials. Some good, some bad, but this one stuck out to me. I'm not sure if it is due to my favorite Killers song featured in it or the imagrey used or both.

Check it out below.

Viral Video of the Day

You have probably heard a few stories about what was faked during the Olympics in Beijing, including: some of the fireworks, spectators at the games, a building, and the song for China.

With all of the forgery at the Olympics, China is starting to receive more negative PR than you can shake a stick at. At least one positive thing has come from this: a hilarious rip-off of Lin Miaoke singing "I sing for my county." This time she is singing a big of a different tune...

The Olympics on YouTube

YouTube will be streaming clips of the Olympics to 77 countries.

This is be a nice feature, considering the major time difference between China and other parts of the world.