Anika Begay
In mid-June, when NBCUniversal announced its partnership with Meta, Overtime, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube to send 27 influencers to the 2024 Paris Olympics, and it seemed like a big deal. These were big content creators like Kai Cenat, Daniel Macdonald, and Zhongni “Zhong” Zhu, people with millions and millions of followers. The hope was that their presence would engage Gen Z and Gen Alpha members and get them interested in the Games.
For the most part, it didn’t work. While the move generated fawning pieces about the “influencer era” from outlets like the New York Times and Bloomberg, neither consumers nor advertisers (who, according to NBCUniversal, could create sponsored posts with influencers if they wanted) appear to have taken a particularly kind view of the network’s “Paris Creators Collective,” which has spent the past two weeks hopping between Olympic events.
Instead, what has captured the public’s attention has been content from athlete creators like US Rugby team star Ilona Maher, who has gained nearly 2 million new followers in the past two weeks thanks to her witty fit checks and Island of Love– similar to references to the “Olympic Villa.” Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen has become famous for his love of a soft chocolate muffin served in the Olympic Village, while other fans have consumed dozens of unboxing videos of national team uniforms made by athletes from around the world.
People also fell in love with trendy characters, like Olympic shooters Kim Yeji and Yusuf Dikeç or Stephen Nedoroscik, the bespectacled American gymnast who should really work hard to get a Warby Parker endorsement deal if he hasn’t already. People also went nuts (again) over the supposedly valuable Olympic commentary from Snoop Dogg, who NBCUniversal has officially brought on board for the first time for these Games.
The videos that NBC influencers are posting, on the other hand, don’t seem to be doing well, or at least not going viral. Part of that may be due to the restrictions placed on creators, who weren’t allowed to post videos of the actual events.
Most have tried to skirt around the actual athletics, sharing clips from the venues, their reactions, their meals and flips, or their outfits. Others have tried to play coy around the whole concept, using their TikToks to mock European architecture or, in the case of “Apprentice of Jesus” creator Lecrae, addressing the “sincerity of his faith” for profiting from the very Games that people (mistakenly) believe are a parody of the Last Supper.
The resulting videos seem a bit weak, with less cutting or immediate commentary than those circulating elsewhere. (After all, if NBCUniversal flies you to Paris and hosts you, you probably won’t comment on how awkward the Australian breakdancer’s moves were or how you couldn’t see a thing from your expensive seat at the opening ceremony.)
