It has become one of the most shared ads of the Olympics, Adweek says.
Michael Phelps stars in the ad for Under Armour, part of the Rule Yourself campaign, that captures behind-the-scenes work and sacrifice that goes into shaping an Olympic great.
It never mentions the Olympics, because Under Armour is not an official games sponsor. But the video is set, fittingly, to "The Last Goodbye." Phelps, at 31, is swimming in his final games in Rio and still adding to the gold medal count.
Adweek said Thursday that the award-winning spot, created by the Droga5 agency, has become the second most shared Olympics ad for 2016 and the fifth most shared Olympics spot of all time, according to new data from Unruly. Viewers have shared on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and more, mostly for emotional reasons.
"It's striking the right emotional chord with its target audience: millennial men between the ages of 18 and 34," the Adweek story said. "The dramatic nature of the Phelps spot (with a killer track from The Kills) and its ability to take viewers through the swimmer's intense training process elicited a sense of inspiration among 47 percent of overall viewers, and 68 percent of millennial men."
Harry Roman, Droga5's co-head of strategy, told Adweek that viewers are sharing the ad because it shows daily sacrifice.
"I think people connect with this film because it paints hard work and sacrifice with beautiful strokes, but does so in a way that is raw and real about what it takes to win," Roman told Adweek. " I would like to think that this film and the stirring lyrics, 'It's The Last Goodbye,' are playing in the back of people's minds when they see him smiling on the podium.
"We probably won't ever see another athlete like Michael Phelps for a very long time," Roman said.
lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com