Top Spot of the Week: Blinkink Director Sam Gainsborough, adam&eveDDB Share "The Paralympic Dream"

In an effort to drive global viewership for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, adam&eveDDB created a campaign which dismisses the conventional idea that the Paralympics competition is primarily about bringing together persons with disabilities to participate in joyous sporting harmony. Instead “The Paralympic Dream” campaign emphasizes all the impressive athleticism and edge-of-your-seat competition that takes place during the event. 
 
This :60 TV spot--a collaborative effort between adam&eveDDB New York and London with Sam Gainsborough of Blinkink directing--cuts through the condescending tropes, showcasing the Paralympic Games for what it truly is: a high-performance sporting event, serving as an arena for preeminent athletes to exhibit their fierce sporting talent and compete against the best. 
 
Starting in a dream-like animated world where athletes run, jump, fence, and paddle, we see lovable characters traveling hand-in-hand through a fantastical Paris. They frolic among fluffy clouds, flowers, and bright colors, all set to the sound of Paul McCartney’s anthem, “We All Stand Together.”
 
This saccharine picture of the Paralympics is then suddenly shattered as British Paralympic taekwondo athlete Amy Truesdale is kicked in the chest and crashes to the mat--the message comes across loud and clear, “They’re not playing games.” The animated world is then juxtaposed with the harsh reality of competitive sports as we experience the grunts, clashes, sweat, and triumphs of the true athletes that the Paralympians really are.

Inspired by French animation icon Sylvain Chomet, Gainsborough and a team of 20-plus animators led by Reg Isaac crafted an idyllic 2D world before dropping a sudden tonal shift that uses powerful live-action footage from the games.

 The campaign broke on May 20 to mark the 100-day countdown to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. It launches online on the International Paralympic Committee’s owned channels, and will roll out globally in up to 185 countries and territories, across TV, online, and social, thanks to the support of Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Media Rights Holders, National Paralympic Committees and International Federations. 

cain&abelDDB worked on all global adaptations of the campaign, delivering over 140 assets across nine different languages for TV, online, and social. 

Richard Brim, global chief creative officer, adam&eveDDB, said, “We’re super proud of this piece of work for the International Paralympics Committee out of New York with strategic support from London. When people talk about the athletes taking part in the Olympics, they tend to talk about them competing and yet when they talk about them taking part in the Paralympics, they talk more about them participating. What is that about?”