Medical apparel brand Figs finds a new Olympics ad opportunity in heart-rate monitors for athletes’ parents

The feature, dubbed “The heart of the moment,” is both a broadcasting and advertising first for parent firm NBCUniversal. Details around how the monitor will actually show up on viewers’ screens, and which lucky spectating parents will be chosen, remain unclear. Other than telling Digiday the company is “grateful” to have brought sponsor Figs onboard, a spokesperson for NBCU didn’t divulge further information.

For Figs, there’s more than just a logo placement to this unusual media investment. The brand’s Olympic Games ad campaign, which will include an anthem spot on NBC, Peacock and Hulu, uses the tagline, “It takes heart to build bodies that break records.” Bené Eaton, Figs’ CMO, said that the sponsorship would help extend that message “beyond the film and into the live broadcasts of the games.”

Furthermore, as a medical apparel supplier, Figs’ marketing team is keen to associate the brand with health care expertise, an ambition that has also led it to sponsor the U.S. Olympic medical team.

Audiences will be inundated with Olympic messaging over the next few weeks, as brands big and small look for new routes to reach viewers attracted by the games. And there are few elements of NBCU’s Olympics coverage that have not already been colonized by advertisers, so much so that the fact it’s broadcasting the first hour of the opening ceremony uninterrupted by ads was itself cause for a press release this week. (The abstinence is set to be “supported” by five of its Olympic sponsors, the logos of which will be shown for 10 minutes each throughout the hour.)

In the background, NBC is working hard to “humanize” the Olympics in Paris this year, said Alex Charkham, chief strategy officer at Omnicom specialist sports agency Fuse.

“It’s about creating things that are talkable, that drive interest,” he said. NBCU is also set to shake up its commentary staff, adding celebrities such as Jimmy Fallon and Snoop Dogg to its on-screen talent roster.

The Figs-sponsored heart-rate monitors will help NBC bring “relatability,” said Charkham, to a sporting event that otherwise focuses on pushing the limits of human physicality.

“It’s very hard for us to relate to any athletes, but many people can relate to what it’s like watching your kids perform, and the trials, tribulations and nerves that you go through,” he said. “From a commercial standpoint, that then brings in a whole new raft of opportunities because of that story.”

Dan Conti, head of sports marketing at media agency PMG, said in an email that NBCU has a job on its hands to attract and keep viewers’ eyeballs on Paris this summer. A strong performance, he suggested, would prove to advertisers that live sports on Peacock are a worthwhile investment.

“The stakes are high coming off Tokyo, which was the least watched summer games on TV, but was also the most streamed ever,” he told Digiday. “Positive results can bring in a new wave of Olympic advertisers in future years to have a presence in and around the games.”

The heart-rate monitors are part of that effort.

For Figs, they’re part of a wider plan to break through at the Olympics. The brand is the first advertiser to officially sponsor the U.S. Medical Team, and is outfitting the 250-odd medical pros accompanying American athletes to Paris with bespoke uniforms in a deal that’s set to last to 2028.

“We saw an opportunity to outfit these individuals who are building bodies that break records, who are working and dedicating their craft and their passion and their lives to these athletes,” said Eaton.

She declined to share details of the brand’s budget, but said it is planning a “robust” media campaign to back up the partnership.

In addition to the sponsored heart-rate monitor, uniforms and anthem spot, Figs will also deploy a 400-strong roster of health care influencers and an out-of-home campaign intended to target health care professionals on their way to and from work at some of the biggest hospitals in the U.S.

The brand is set to buy digital OOH and traditional OOH inventory that will be visible from commuter routes into hospitals in Los Angeles (with a focus on freeway placements), Philadelphia (which includes buses) and New York (on select public transit routes).

The cities were chosen because of their “saturation” of hospitals, Eaton said. “We’re looking at where we can show up for our community,” she added.