With the 2014 Winter Olympics now in full swing, brands across the country are taking advantage of all the hype to boost their marketing strategies. Several prominent food brands have attached their names to the games or to U.S. Olympians competing in Sochi in hopes of making their advertisements gold medal-worthy. For some of these brands, the Olympics even offer an opportunity to launch limited edition products or packaging. At the end of the day, though, the image boost from having your food products tied to some of the world's greatest athletes is enough for most.
Here's a look at 6 food brands looking for gold at this year's Winter Olympics.
1. Kashi
Kashi is making its Olympic debut this year, sponsoring cross-country skier Kikkan Randall. The natural foods pioneer is using its Olympic ad campaign to promote the idea that living the lifestyle of an Olympian begins with eating right. This marketing campaign includes both 15- and 30-second commercial spots airing nationally, as well as a social media campaign that gives an inside look into Randall’s training regimen. This is also the first time Kashi is featuring an athlete on one of its products: Randall can now be found on GOLEAN cereal boxes.
2. Pop-Tarts
Torin Yater-Wallace and Maggie Voisin, both making their Olympic debuts in freeskiing, have teamed up with Pop-Tarts, Kellogg’s popular breakfast pastry brand. With their popular slogan "Crazy Good," Pop-Tarts is using this campaign to take you behind the scenes of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics with two of the youngest members of the U.S. Olympic team. Fans can download the "Crazy Good Me" app, allowing them to design avatars decked out in Yater-Wallace and Voisin’s favorite Winter Olympic gear. Yater-Wallace also appeared on limited edition "Go USA Edition" Strawberry Pop-Tarts, which featured blue frosting and white, star-shaped sprinkles.
3. Kellogg’s
Kellogg's Olympic sponsorship doesn't end with Pop-Tarts, though. Every time the Olympic games are held, Kellogg’s puts together "Team Kellogg’s" — and this year’s Winter Olympics are no different. Ten athletes, ranging from past Olympians to this year’s Olympic hopefuls — and spanning both the Olympic and Paralympic games — made the team this year. Not only is the company sharing these athletes' “great starts” in a social media campaign that will also provide breakfasts for children in need, but the athletes involved are featured on packaging for a variety of Kellogg's products. After seeing the limited edition Pop-Tarts, though, we can't help but wonder where the red, white, and blue Rice Krispies are.
4. Smucker’s
J.M. Smucker Co. advertisements will feature a variety of athletes, from skiiers to skaters, throughout the 2014 Olympic season. Among those who made the cut are Gracie Gold, Evan Lysacek, and Julia Mancuso, just to name a few. These athletes will be featured in both commercials and digital marketing leading up to and during the Winter Olympics. Smucker’s, Folgers, Jif, and Smucker’s Uncrustables — the four main components of the Smucker’s brand — will be the products featured by the athletes.
5. Chobani
Chobani, the official yogurt of U.S. Olympians, rolled out a Twitter ad featuring rainbow-colored cups with the slogan “Naturally Powering Everyone” in support of athletes of all sexual orientations. Ironically enough, this happened around to the same time Russia blocked 5,000 single-serve Chobani yogurt cups from entering the country due to discrepancies in the pasteurization process. Chobani is also sponsoring hockey player Zach Parise and mogul skier Hannah Kearney in its ads, claiming, “It’s one thing to sponsor U.S. Olympians, it’s another to be in their fridge.”
Naturally Powering Everyone pic.twitter.com/J8g70TrCny
— Chobani (@Chobani) February 8, 2014
6. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, another long-time sponsor of the Olympics, has also had a controversial run. It experienced much of the same backlash as McDonalds when it did not withdraw its sponsorship due to Russia’s anti-gay laws. The soft-drink giant chose to to show an extended version of its controversial 2014 Super Bowl commercial during the winter games. Not only does the spot's multicultural nature fit the international nature of the Olympic, but it also notably includes a gay couple. On a product note, Coke also always unveils an Olympic collector's can design, and as seen above and at this link, this year is no different.
Would you like to see more food news like this in your inbox on a daily basis? Subscribe to our Food Dive email newsletter! You may also want to read Food Dive's look at 5 environmentally friendly eating trends to watch.