Meet the Superhumans: Marketing the 2012 Paralympics
This paper reviews and analyzes Channel 4's promotional video "Meet the Superhumans," created to advertise the 2012 London Paralympics. The analysis examines the brand being marketed, the broad market segments targeted by the advertisement, the key objectives driving the campaign, and the integrated marketing communications (IMC) messages employed. Drawing on viewer responses and academic literature on IMC and disability sport, the paper argues that the video successfully built brand awareness for the Paralympics, generated advertising revenue for Channel 4, and helped elevate public recognition of disabled athletes as inspirational role models on a global stage.
- Introduction: Context and scope of the paper
- Analysis of the Video as a Sport Product Promotional Tool: Brand identity and target market segments
- Key Objectives of the Video: Advertising revenue and Channel 4 campaign goals
- Key Integrated Marketing Communications Messages: IMC theory applied to the promotional video
- Conclusion: Campaign success and social impact summary
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper applies a clear analytical framework — brand, market segments, objectives, and IMC messages — to a single concrete artifact, keeping the analysis focused and structured.
- It supports claims with a mix of academic sources (Brunello on IMC theory, Davis on Paralympic advocacy) and trade press evidence (English on advertising revenue), demonstrating breadth of sourcing appropriate to the topic.
- Incorporating real YouTube viewer comments as empirical evidence of the advertisement's effectiveness is an inventive move that grounds the IMC analysis in audience response rather than speculation alone.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the use of integrated marketing communications (IMC) theory as an evaluative lens. Rather than simply describing the advertisement, the writer tests it against Brunello's definition of IMC — brand awareness, information delivery, market education, and positive image advancement — and shows, point by point, how the video satisfies each criterion. This technique of applying a theoretical framework to a real-world case is central to business and marketing analysis at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief contextual introduction establishing the Paralympic Games' significance, then moves through four analytical sections: brand identification, target market segments, campaign objectives (including the financial stakes for Channel 4), and IMC messaging. The conclusion synthesizes findings and connects the campaign's success to broader social impact. Each section is clearly signposted, making the argument easy to follow.
Introduction
Today, the Paralympic Games are widely regarded as the second-largest sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games themselves, and there is growing recognition of the extraordinary abilities of athletes with disabilities as a result (Davis 2012). This paper provides a review of the promotional video "Meet the Superhumans," which was used to advertise the 2012 London Paralympics on Channel 4. The analysis covers the brand being marketed, the targeted market segments, the key objectives of the video, and its key integrated marketing communications messages. A summary of the research and important findings are provided in the conclusion.
Analysis of the Video as a Sport Product Promotional Tool
The brand being marketed in the video is the 2012 Paralympic Games. Originally established by Sir Ludwig Guttmann in the late 1940s as a way to help wounded World War II soldiers reintegrate into civilian society, the Paralympics brand today concerns a global sporting competition comparable to the Olympics that is open to athletes with various physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities (Davis 2012). The 1988 Games were the first to use the title "Paralympics" ('2012 Paralympics to Transform View of Disabled' 2010). The 2012 London Paralympics included athletes from more than 150 nations who competed in more than 19 sporting events over the course of a two-week period following the 2012 Olympic Games (Davis 2012).
The video targets a broad range of market segments, ranging from the very young to the very old, across all nationalities and ethnicities, using the common denominator of inspiration through perseverance. As Davis (2012, p. 20) reports, "Teachers and students alike enjoy reading and learning about role models, especially those in the sport world. Role models from the sport world help us all learn about goal setting, sacrifice, joy, disappointment, and accomplishment." By highlighting the fact that many Paralympians become disabled as a result of service-connected military injuries or vehicular collisions, the video makes the point that these athletes are only different from mainstream society by virtue of an otherwise-disabling condition that they have overcome through hard work and persistence — making them true "superhumans" who are worthy of emulation and admiration.
Key Objectives of the Video
The key objectives of the advertisement appear to be generating increased viewer interest in the Paralympic Games on Channel 4 — and for good reason. There was a great deal of money at stake in this major sporting event. For example, more than 50 non-Olympic-sponsor brands, including Tesco, Apple, and Google, purchased advertising packages for Channel 4's coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games (English 2012). Other sponsor brands that purchased advertising from Channel 4 for the Paralympics included Auto Trader, Aviva, B&Q, Colgate, Comet, Gocompare.com, Kellogg, Land Rover, Mars, Renault, Tropicana, and Volvo (English 2012).
According to English (2012, p. 5), the head of a major media investment agency stated: "Channel 4 has divided its slots around the Paralympics into mixed packages of eight to ten spots, which include both daytime and peak shows. Brands have been attracted by the legacy of the Olympics. We think that the Paralympics will perform strongly from a viewing standpoint, so it is a smart buy." The marketing for the 2012 London Paralympics was indeed a "smart buy," due in large part to the effectiveness of the integrated marketing communications messages used to promote the event, as discussed further below.
Conclusion
The research showed that the 2012 London Paralympics were a major success in terms of educating the global public about the abilities of disabled individuals in the modern world. The Paralympic Games have become the second-largest sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games, and current indications suggest that this trajectory will continue well into the foreseeable future, due in large part to the motivational messages communicated by these sporting events. In the final analysis, it is reasonable to conclude that the success of the 2012 London Paralympics was attributable, at least in part, to the effectiveness of Channel 4's "Meet the Superhumans" video and that the integrated marketing communications messages used helped increase the visibility of disabled individuals and their potential for contributing in meaningful ways to modern society.
References
Brunello, A (2013, January–March). 'The Relationship between Integrated Marketing Communication and Brand Equity.' International Journal of Communication Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 9–15.
Davis, RW (2012, March). 'Introduction: The Paralympics Advocate for, and Build Awareness of, Sport for All.' The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 19–23.
English, A (2012, August 22). 'C4 Paralympics Slots Attract Big Advertisers.' Marketing, p. 5.
'Meet the Superhumans.' Channel 4: UK. [online] available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vavJK1McHUo.
'2012 Paralympics to Transform View of Disabled' (2010, June 15). Western Mail, p. 7.
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