Throughout the summer, Xfinity showcased Olympic gold medalists Grant Holloway, Jewell Loyd, and Sophia Smith in their “We All Win” advertisement campaign.
The commercial features a young, Black boy who sees everyone in his community wearing gold medals. As he walks with his father, he sees a mural of Loyd and a billboard of Smith. When they reach a local barbershop, the boy witnesses a track and field race where Holloway wins.
“We wanted to speak to the sense of community that Comcast enables by bringing events like the Olympics,” said Burrell Communications creative director Lynn Pitts said. “In Black communities, there’s another layer culturally about the way that we feel when we see Black athletes, especially on a global stage like the Olympics.”
The campaign displays the extra feeling of pride Black people feel when they see Black athletes excel at the Games. The goal was to make the ad like a coming-of-age story for the main character.
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“The first time you experience watching an Olympic athlete win and watching it in community, it’s such a powerful experience,” Pitts said. “To have him there with his father … and to have him there in a place that really symbolizes community in Black culture in the barbershop was also another layer.”
When Burrell Communications and Comcast collaborated on the campaign, emphasis was put on how the Black community honors the achievements of its individuals.
“That’s why “We All Win” is the title of the campaign because we celebrate everyone’s achievements because it is like it’s our own,” said Comcast vice president of multicultural strategy, operations and community engagement Jose Velez Silva. “That’s something that, for me, was very strong and very meaningful to use that as the epicenter of everything.”
The campaign also shows how the Olympics inspires youth, giving them hope that they too can compete amongst the best in the world.
Malik Hassan Sayeed directed the commercial. His movie credits include, “The Original Kings of Comedy,” “He Got Game,” and “Belly.” The crew was made up of mostly Black and Brown people; the cast was also predominantly Black.
“We’re very proud that we tell the stories by the people who are making the stories,” Silva said. “We presented the concept that Burrell put together, some of them cried when they saw the end result. They cried of pride.”
