Comcast Chair & CEO Brian Roberts on Friday said NBC's ad sales for the Pyeongchang Games have exceeded $900M, which is "more than the company did in Sochi" four years ago. Roberts also said "several nights of primetime are sold out" on NBC, including Friday's broadcast of the Opening Ceremony. Roberts said of having Super Bowl LII and Pyeongchang so close together has provided the network new opportunities. He said, “The advertising team has gone into the business of really trying to come up with solutions for our clients. Using all these media, not just television but the social media, the on-demand, the streaming." Roberts said NBC during its coverage of the Games will use social media "to bring awareness, to tell stories, to give more than just the streaming but actually the on-demand and using voice technology" ("Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 2/9). The more than $900M in ad sales is a "record for a Winter Games" (REUTERS, 2/8).
QUICK AND TO THE POINT: ADWEEK's Jason Lynch reported NBC will be airing six-second ads "for the first time" during the Games after partnering with Toyota. The automaker will be the "exclusive brand" airing the spots. NBC will air a "pair of six-second spots from Toyota during 12 nights of its primetime Olympics coverage," beginning Saturday night. Toyota additionally will "contribute two six-second ads during eight nights of NBC’s Prime Plus Olympics telecast, which will air after the local news." NBCU Exec VP/Sales & Marketing Dan Lovinger said that the brand has "created custom six-second spots as part of its larger Olympics ad buy" (ADWEEK.com, 2/8).
PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT: ADWEEK's Katie Richards wrote Toyota "beautifully illustrates" the "struggle of training and pushing yourself to limit" in its first of seven new spots that will run throughout the Games. The 60-second "Thin Ice" spot stars U.S. figure skater Ashley Wagner. The spot’s message is "particularly powerful, given that Wagner narrowly missed a spot on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team this year." She will still be at the Games, "acting as a brand ambassador for Toyota, but won’t be competing." These seven spots "follow three new spots that ran during the Super Bowl" (ADWEEK.com, 2/8).
