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The Olympics
MPS BRANDING THESIS PROJECT
Repositioning the world's largest multi-sport athletic competition.
ROLE
Brand Strategy
Art Direction
MPS BRANDING 2024 THESIS TOPIC
Engendering - Cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition).
Gender roles are behaviors deemed appropriate for each gender by cultural norms. Four key agents of gender socialization—family, school, peers, and media—shape how individuals connect with their gender identity. Engendering suggests a fifth agent: brands. Brands influence how genders engage with products, shaping their roles in people’s lives. These roles impact how people interact with brands, their associations, the values they express, and ultimately, what society allows or restricts them from doing.
The task of the 2024 thesis was to question existing legacy systems to unearth opportunities to solve brand, societal, community and personal challenges.
For more on Gender Identity watch this video where Judith Butler explains her view on Gender Theory:
A HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE
The Modern Olympic Games.
From the first game in Athens in 1896, to the 2024 Paris games, hosted weeks after this project, there have been 30 Summer Games, and 24 Winter Games, currently hosting 206 countries and regions as participants.
A GLOBAL VISION
"
Aristocrat, Historian, & Educational Reformist, Piere De Coubertin established the modern Olympic games in 1796 with the support of 13 other European nations.
-Piere De Coubertin
1863-1937
The Olympic movement is about more than just competition; it is about the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of life.”
& 2 ANCIENT IDEALS.
Areté (ah-reh-'tay)
The pursuit of individual excellence
Amilla (ah-mee-lah)
The desire for
communal good
The Ancient Greeks believed deeply in the value of competition to serve two higher purposes, an avenue to achieve personal excellence, and as a vehicle for communal good. These two ideals were personified in the ancient Greek terms Areté, and Amilla. The Ancient Greek perspective toward sports higher function in society was instrumental in the flourishing of the ancient Olympic Games hosted from 776 BCE to 393 AD.
Through these ideals, we sought to position the Olympics as the embodiment of the interplay between the pursuit of individual excellence (Areté) and the desire for communal good (Amilla) through sport.
/ STRATEGIC ACTIVATION
An overarching philosophy that encompasses both individual and communal perspectives, embodying the interplay between Arete and Amilla.
The Olympic Vision reflects the ideals that the Olympic games were founded upon and will seek to establish both long term and short term effects on the games through 3 strategic goals:
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Reaffirm Commitment
02
Extend Presence
03
Expand Categories
ACTIVATION 01 / GLOBAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
VISION GOAL 01 / REAFFIRM COMMITMENT
The motto, changed from the 2020 "Better, Stronger, Faster - Together" shift focus away from the individual metric of competition and toward a commitment to the Olmypic vision.
Hover to play motion graphics.
New York
Paris
Shanghai
London
Shibuya City
Mockups by Anselm Wiethoff
Striving for Collective Excellence.
The revisited Olympic motto would be prominently displayed in major cities across the world, signaling the Olympics commitment to the Olympic Vision.
ACTIVATION 02 / OLYMPIC HAND GESTURE
VISION GOAL 02 / EXTEND PRESENCE
Illustrations by Zihao Zhang
Creating a Universal Symbol.
Representing the five interlocking rings of the Olympics, this universal hand gesture symbolizes unity of all people. In this gesture, we invite audiences from around the world to bring their hands together and join us in our commitment to good.
ACTIVATION 03 / RATIO METRICS
VISION GOAL 03 / EXPAND CATEGORIES
Who is stronger, the elephant or the ant?
Ratio Metrics questions, what if we applied the same principals to athletes in existing competitions to extend the opportunities to honor human excellence.
143 New Medals
Across 14 Sports.
These new medals would be created on metrics dependent upon the sport, and would be distributed within existing classes, adding awards in the following categories:
Mass lifted /
Unit mass
Velocity (Distance) /
Unit mass
Velocity /
Unit mass (with vehicle)
Weightlifting (1)
Athletics (38)
Swimming (35)
Marathon Swimming (2)
Sport Climbing (4)
Sailing (10)
Rowing (14)
Cycling Mountain Bike (2)
Cycling BMX Racing (2)
Cycling Road (4)
Cycling Track (12)
Canoe Sprint (10)
Canoe Slalom (6)
Triathlon (3)
/ RATIO METRICS APP
Going beyond the Games.
By bringing this transformative method of thinking to audiences at at scale, training could diverge from single metric training intro Ratio Training, changing how athletes challenge themselves.
/ MANIFESTO NARRATIVE VIDEO
After countless drafts and distilling, the team crafted a manifest to encapsulate the emotion and purpose we sought to bring forward. This was followed by a narrative video that displayed and showcased these moments across the modern olympics history, concluding with a sequence of 6 different voices proclaiming in their native language "this is the olympics".
Video Directed by Connor Gravelle
/ OLYMPIC MANFESTO
We gather in the pursuit of excellence.
We proclaim ourselves through sport.
We value the bonds built through collective competition.
We honor dedication, fellowship, and perseverance.
We unite the world, even in difficult times.
This is the Olympics.
Manifesto written by Dan Baron
Project Credits
Our Team (Team ABCD)
Anselm Wiethoff - Art Direction
Bruce Zihao Zhang - Illustration
Connor Gravelle - Video Direction & Animation
Daniel Baron - Strategist
Debbie Millman - Program Chair
Mark Kingsley - Faculty
Tom Guarriello - Faculty
Micheal Shirley - Teachers Assistant
Nada AlYafei - Supporting Teachers Assistant
Spens Hanvik - Supporting Teachers Assistant
Thank you to our faculty and the entire MPS Branding program for the opportunity to work on such an incredible topic.