I, like many others, tuned into Thursday night’s Sochi Olympic show on TV.  I don’t know about you, but I fully expected it to be the Opening Ceremonies, since all the lead up teasers sort of indicated this.  Instead, we saw a bespectacled Bob Costas (sadly almost side-lined by an eye inflammation), who introduced us to the Olympics with a political rant about all the drama surrounding the Games this year… security threats, Russia’s stance on homosexuals, and the killing of stray dogs.  Hmmmmm.

And no fun commercials.  No athletes, no stirring video montages.  What is happening?

I was raised watching the Olympics with great reverence and appreciation of all the raw talent and sacrifice that the athletes put in to prepare for their big moment.  All the agonies of defeat and the celebration of achieving a medal of any color.  I’ve known some Olympians, and I can vouch for their dedication to the ideals far beyond those 2 weeks of competition.  Frankly, I was appalled by Costas’ opening segment.  No mention of the athletes, no introduction to the types of sports we would be seeing… just a rant.  And then, surprisingly, some actual coverage of snow boarding.  Yep, BEFORE the Opening Ceremonies which are set for tonight.  Surely a very strange Winter Olympics are shaping up.  Will the Closing Ceremonies happen prior to the completion of all events??

And since this is a blog about marketing, sort of, I started wondering how this negative and scared attitude might affect the sponsors and advertisers.  Are all of the commentators going to lead with the political drama, and not focus on the athletes?  Will the entire event be overshadowed with these new, dark and terrible threats?  Next to the commercials made especially for the SuperBowl, many big brands also create and collaborate with the various sports and athletes to create memorable marketing messages just for the Olympics.  All for naught?  We have seen many excellent campaigns that reach out and touch our hearts and create new relationships and new customers.  Will there be new campaigns that we talk about for years, from this Olympic event?

And with no live coverage during Prime Time, I wonder about the results of major ad campaigns during these Games.  I hope that the amazing grace and abilities of the athletes completely wash away the other messaging of negativity.  I hope that we meet and come to know new superstars from every sport.  And I hope that the sponsors and advertisers, who spent major dollars supporting the US Teams, see some results.

And in the end, I really just want to watch curling… and maybe cool new ads from Coke, Pepsi and others… right?