Our empowering campaign with the International Paralympic Committee, ‘The Paralympic Dream,’ dispelled harmful misconceptions about the Paralympic Games and drove global viewership for Paris 2024.
Collaborating with adam&eveDDB New York, we produced a striking TV spot highlighting the Paralympics as a high-performance, edge-of-your-seat sporting event featuring top athletes, in contrast to the conventional idea that it’s all about participation and joyous sporting harmony. The ad starts with a dreamy, animated Paris with lovable characters, frolicking hand-in-hand, all set to Paul McCartney’s anthem “We All Stand Together. This saccharine picture of the Paralympics is then suddenly shattered with a kick to the chest of Paralympic taekwondo athlete Amy Truesdale. As she crashes to the mat – the message comes across loud and clear, “They’re not playing games”.
To further promote Paris 2024, we also encouraged leading Paralympians to use social media to challenge and sparke conversation around the language used to describe them in the media. They declared they’re not “participating”, as they’re often described, but “competing” in the Games – a great reminder that Paralympians have often been praised simply for taking part in sport, not because of their elite skills or fierce drive to win.