The story behind the BBC Olympics trailer
The 90-second promotion fizzes with energy
The trailer for the Rio Olympics is brilliantly clever, evocative and leaves you feeling euphoric before the games have even begun.
It features crocs doing handstands, apes playing shot put, and jaguars sprinting through the Tijuca rainforest.
The idea is that the animals represent the athletes in all their speed and muscle, while really bringing to the fore the culture of the host nation.
James Parry, head of marketing at BBC Sport, reveals how they came up with the genius trailer below…
“Both the trail and titles for the Games have been produced by the award-winning animation house Passion Pictures, who produced the BBC’s 2012 trail for the London Games.
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“The strength, agility and skill of Olympic athletes are astonishing. Sprinters explode from the blocks as fast as leopards and swimmers zip through the water like otters. It feels only fitting that the strength of the athletes is brought to life by the host nation’s exotic animals in the backdrop of the luscious and vibrant Tijuca rainforest of Rio.
“To the track Not Gonna Break Me by Jamie N Commons, we see the sloth take on gymnastics, the armadillo clap its hands in chalk before attempting the clean and jerk and the powerful jaguar cracking its neck before forming up on the starting blocks for the 400m. Then they transform into their human athlete counterparts.”
He adds: “There’s more for viewers to look forward to as our marketing trail forms part of a wider creative campaign that includes title sequences and idents. These will show more of the city of Rio along with the rich and diverse animal kingdom indigenous to Brazil, helping to build the excitement for what will be a spectacular event.”
