NBC To Begin Promotion Of Vancouver Games During Macy's Parade

By Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Watch This Clip

It is more than a year before the Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, but NBC already is pushing people to tune in to its broadcast. The network will air its first promotion of the 2010 Vancouver Games Thursday during its broadcast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and National Dog Show. The 50-second spot begins by reflecting on the Beijing Games and Michael Phelps' historic achievement, then flashes forward to Vancouver by highlighting the coastal city's scenery. NBC considers Thanksgiving Day somewhat of a good-luck charm because it started its promotions for the Beijing Games during the Macy's Parade broadcast in '07. NBC VP/Strategic Marketing Mike McCarley said, "This isn't a start of the campaign so much as a nod to the success of Beijing and a way to introduce Vancouver as a unique setting and one of the most beautiful places in North America."