How the 2024 Olympics Lit Up the Social Media Torch
By: Ayoko Djisseglo
Something was in the air for this year’s Olympics! The 2024 Paris Olympic Games saw an 82% increase in viewership compared to the 2021 Tokyo Games. Each new day brought running jokes and moments that went viral. Part of the increase was due to the Games having more lenient social media guidelines compared to previous years, which proved to be a golden decision. Athletes, celebrities, and the public organically marketed the Olympic Games by just being themselves.
From Victories to Viral TikToks
TikTok is one of the best spaces to organically market your brand, and athletes seemed just as excited to post videos as they were to compete. Suni Lee’s TikTok celebrating Team USA Gymnastics’ gold win received 49.7M views, being one of the most viewed videos on her account. Fans were also giddy to catch the video of Suni Lee and Simone Biles planning their TikTok video after their win. This behind-the-scenes footage became a highlighted moment, with women relating this to the ongoing “girlhood” online conversation that sprouted from the 2023 Barbie movie. Clearly girls do just want to have fun, and viewers were here for it!
Winning Hearts and Medals
Athletes' personalities were given opportunities to really shine and connect to audiences at key moments (online and offline) throughout the Games. The feel-good Twitter interaction between Sesame Street’s lovable little monster, Elmo, and gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik ushered in hundreds (if not thousands) of new fans for this athlete. Simultaneously, Nedoroscik was going viral for being dubbed the “Pommel Horse Guy” and for his comparison to Clark Kent. The internet also raved about the athletic and intellectual prowess of Track & Field runner Gabby Thomas, who was not only a three-time gold medalist at this year’s Olympics, but also holds a neurology and global health degree from Harvard (#girlpower). Fans of all ages loved seeing these multifaceted athletes/national heroes interact as real, authentic people—which led to immense support for the individuals, their sports, and the Games.
Star-Studded Support
The athletes were shining, but I'd be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that some celebrities kept things exciting. The public was touched to hear about Flavor Flav’s support and funding of women athletes, something that wasn’t widely known. Flavor Flav being a hype-man of the women’s swimming team became part of digital discourse (1)(2). Meanwhile, users erupted into jokes about how Snoop Dogg was on another side quest to try different sports. The video of the Uncle Snoop holding the Olympic torch is arguably one of Gen Z and Millennials' top most enjoyable marketing moments of the Games.
Memes Have Their Moment
And what’s social media talk without the memes?? Because nothing speaks to the digital age and connecting globally across channels like humor, which has become a natural part of the social landscape. There could honestly be a separate blog dedicated to digital humor during and after the Games—from posts about Team USA’s basketball players to Australian breakdancer Raygun, and so much more. The official Paris Olympics TikTok account even made a slideshow of their favorites (go ahead—take a break here to swipe through!). Viewers even turned their status as regular civilians into a laughing moment, creating the "Unfortunately, I was not chosen for the Olympics" trend where they showed themselves failing at a sport.
Now let’s be honest here: Americans, who had been feeling burnt out this year due to political tides, got a chance to exhale. Many people online expressed that the 2024 Paris Olympics brought them a sense of patriotism, and they couldn’t help but be proud of their athletes. Although there was plenty of planning and marketing for the Paris Games, I hope the organizers can see that sometimes the best plan for viewership is to lean into the lighthearted relief and connections online users can have with performances and behind-the-scenes. The Paris Olympics is a good reminder that sometimes when you trust real people versus corporations to engage and lead the narrative, gold is surely to be won across the board. If the Olympics were this good, we can’t wait to see the chatter and incredible moments that come out of the 2024 Paralympic Games!
