The good news: you’ve won a bronze medal at the Olympics. The bad news: your work isn’t finished yet.
Yes, it’s time for the “Victory Selfie”. The medal ceremonies of Paris 2024 have been notable for debuting what some people might hail as a product placement innovation, and some might sniff at as a bit of a wheeze. The answer, of course, is that it’s both.
In case you somehow missed every single one of them at the end of most medal ceremonies, shortly after the national anthem of the champion an official hands the bronze medallist — or occasionally the silver one — a Galaxy Z Flip 6 smartphone provided by Samsung.
They then do what any normal person without superhuman sporting capabilities would do in that situation: they give their fellow medallists a nudge and they all collectively beam down the lens. The phone is then handed back to the official.
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This is happening because Samsung is part of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Partner (Top) Programme, meaning it is one of its biggest sponsors across multiple games.
But there’s a brilliant logic to it. Medallists are not allowed to bring their phones, or any personal items, to the podium for “cleanliness and consistency of protocol”. Official photographers will capture the moment but from a formal angle.
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The Victory Selfie is a more relaxed, relatable, social media-friendly way of celebrating the exuberance and triumph of standing on an Olympic podium and holding up your medal. It feels natural.
According to the organisers, if any medallists opt out in advance, there will be no selfies. But most seem delighted by it. Even those silver and bronze medallists who minutes earlier were crushed not to have won gold seem to perk up when the phone arrives on the little tray.
The Olympics is still a bit of an outlier in the world of sports for not displaying sponsor logos in the field of play. Still, despite not receiving specific on-screen branding, Samsung has reportedly already seen a spike in sales for its foldable phones.
This is elite-level marketing. There’s rarely been a better, purer and more high-profile example of repeated associations between a brand and the sheer joy of having achieved something special.
The IOC says Los Angeles 2028 will feature even more product placement than Paris 2023. But can anyone knock Samsung off the top of the podium?
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