Visa Wows Viewers with High-Flying Olympics Ad
2014-02-14

Freestyle skier David Wise and a host of U.S. Olympians show viewers that Visa is anywhere and everywhere they’d ever want to be.


Visa has long had the tagline "everywhere you want to be," and it’s the theme of this truly striking Olympic-themed homepage takeover of Yahoo.com that ran the day of the Games’ opening ceremonies.

A 25-year sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team, Visa shares the dreams of several athletes striving to reach their “everywhere.” The ad kicks off with freestyle skier Davie Wise carving up a half-pipe and leaping out of the page at the viewer before circling back again, a move the rich media judges would score straight 10s. Wise’s everywhere is breaking boundaries, says the ad, and two videos stirringly narrated by Morgan Freeman share the personal “everywhere” of other Olympians. The whole thing gets the viewer thinking about getting to his or her own everywhere---with Visa there to help, of course.

Dreamy stuff, but Visa knows the Olympics bring out the dreamer in viewers and goes all out for an engaging, emotional connection. Here’s how it works.

 

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The ad takes off with a frequency-capped auto intro that shows Wise skiing up the halfpipe, temporarily suspended above the page, before falling back into the 300x250 east unit.

From there the ad settles into the east unit as well as the 970x60 north unit. Each unit features a “Jump Now” invitation to watch David Wise go everywhere he wants to be.

Should you choose to take the leap, the full-screen takeover launches. Behold David Wise pulling off a sublime halfpipe routine right there in front of you.

When he comes to a stop, you are now on the floor of the halfpipe with two video screens on the opposite end. Each video plays a 30-second Visa spot. The left-hand video features a montage of athletes, while on the right, freestyle skier Torin Yater-Wallace shows you his everywhere.

 

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Visa’s full-screen custom takeover for the Sochi Games taps into the emotion of the Games to convince viewers that their “everywhere can be anywhere”---and Visa will help them get there.