The IOC created a campaign for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games that "converts fitness app users' physical activity into solar-powered lighting for Rwanda's Mahama refugee camp," according to Ben Bold of CAMPAIGN LIVE. Created by the IOC, Publicis London and digital agency Poke, "Become the light" is a metaphor for "how the Olympics, its fans and even non-fans can shine a light on the dark corners of the world." The campaign uses light as an "emblem for the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect," and was built on the insight that nine out of 10 people in refugee camps have no access to electric lighting. It is timed to build up to the PyeongChang Games as the Olympic Torch makes its way across South Korea. The integrated push launched on Monday with four films -- a 90-second "anthem" ad and three 30-second ads, each representing one of the Olympic values. It is being aired "across the globe" by official Olympic broadcasters. However, in the U.K., it "will be seeded digitally" as the BBC, which is broadcasting the Games, does not run ads. The 90-second film features vignettes of Olympians. Adopting a "shadowy monochrome palette, with splashes" of color, the ad opens with a "light-shrouded biathlete cross-country skiing across a darkened snowscape before she stops, raises her rifle and shoots a target set deep within a wood." A voiceover intones, "Here's to those who carry the light." Viewers are invited to visit the campaign hub to sign up. Once signed up, they can dedicate their physical activity recorded by fitness devices such as Fitbit or Strava (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 11/20).
