Delta: Team USA
for Paris Olympics
I developed the first Olympic campaign-level messaging system for Delta to drive consistency across global teams and channels.
I also helped steer the evolution of the campaign narrative, reframing the creative platform around a truth shared by elite athletes and travelers: the journeys that take us furthest often look different from everyone else's. This helped reinforce the aspirational spirit of the brand while aligning naturally with Delta's evolving customer experience strategy and expanding the platform's ability to support a wide range of human stories.
ANTHEM
The journey to the top is never a straight line. It's as unique as each athlete and every dream. That's why, at Delta, we celebrate every route.
We believe there isn't one right path to get where you're going in life or on the playing field — just a million different paths, each one right to the person taking it. Then, when all of our journeys come together, the remarkable happens.
Champions rise. Spirits soar.
And together, we fly.
The onboard welcome video played fleetwide as aircraft pushed back from the gate.
Across Delta hubs, airport sendoffs gave travelers a chance to celebrate Team USA and become part of the journey.
From luggage tags to limited-edition gear, merchandise gave travelers a tangible way to support Team USA wherever they traveled.
We created a custom cocktail for Delta SkyClubs and called it the French 24. Who let us act as mixologists? I don’t know.
Somehow, it made its way from a lonely Word doc to Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
From seat-back screens to Sky Clubs, the campaign traveled with customers throughout their journey.
And from New York City to Los Angeles, the mobile tour transformed parking lots and public spaces into celebrations of Team USA.
Mobile experience produced by Octagon
A collectible pin series celebrated milestones on the journey to Paris, turning campaign moments into keepsakes.
Athletes, travelers and customers carried the platform beyond Delta-owned channels organically.
Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin shared campaign merchandise while traveling.
Conceptual Script
VO: No one finds greatness the same way.
Allyson Felix alone at a desk sketching shoes. Tight shot: pencil marks, fabric swatches, exhausted eyes. Oksana Masters puts on prosthetics in silence. Chase Kalisz and his sister exchange competitive glances.
VO: For some, it starts with an unexpected path.
Allyson training while pregnant intercut with building her shoe brand.
VO: For others, a new home.
Oksana in an embrace with her adopted parents.
VO: Or a rivalry that becomes something greater.
Energy picks up. Chase racing his sister.
VO: But that’s what makes a champion.
Athletes walking down a tunnel, camera following behind.
A Delta pilot walks down the jetway.
VO: Champions inspire crowds. They don’t follow them.
The crowd rises as athletes lock in before competition. Cameras flash.
Energy surges through the arena.
VO: That’s why we’re proud to be
the Official Airline of Team USA.
A Delta aircraft accelerates down
the runway before liftoff.
VO: Because we at Delta
have an unlikely story, too.
Transition match-cut from old crop-dusting
plane (archival grainy style) to modern Delta aircraft.
VO: And we know it’s what makes you different
that makes you go further.
An athlete slams the pool wall and exhales in exhaustion
and relief. In parallel motion, sunrise breaks as the
Team USA plane cuts through the clouds.
DELTA. KEEP CLIMBING.
For conceptual purposes only.
The campaign extended across broadcast. Plus paid, owned and social channels. Below are a few examples developed by Wieden+Kennedy.
RESULTS
Despite running during the CrowdStrike disruption, the campaign delivered strong gains across awareness, preference, recall, brand love and message association.
Alongside the broader 2024 brand campaign, Team USA helped Delta reclaim its position as the most salient airline — the brand most likely to come to mind as travelers begin planning a trip.
