Sports Media Report
We have seen this Hollywood message before… from Days Of Thunder and NASCAR to Chariots of Fire and running to heck… even The Mighty Ducks and youth hockey. But…rowing?
Yes.
A number of elements are flowing together (no river pun intended) that can lift the Olympic sport of rowing with awareness, brand elevation, and some big screen spin that can deliver a solid holiday present for all those around boats and oars. That’s what George Clooney’s new film The Boys In The Boat might be able to do, just in time for the fundraising and awareness push going into this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Here are some of the ways things are moving in the right direction.
First is the film itself, based on the bestseller by Daniel James Brown. It is a period story about the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team and their improbable but true story of winning gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, once again throwing American water on Adolf Hitler’s party (literally and figuratively). This was the Olympics of Jesse Owens and many others who literally drove back Nazi supremacy in every physical sense, making it a history lesson many will learn through film for the first time.
Second is a smart partnership with US Rowing on two fronts. The first is using the film as a fundraiser in the rowing community and beyond to raise awareness and dollars for those athletes heading to the Games this summer. Ironically for those who see the film this will sound very familiar, as one of the key storylines is the fact that the U.S. Olympic Committee put it back on the UW team to raise their own money in post-Depression America to make it to Berlin. So the theme of money needed to fuel the Olympic dream continues to this day.
The other key element for the US Rowing partnership is in the vision of its CEO Amanda Krause: to use the film as a catalyst for growth in the sport on the DEI front. The governing body didn’t just work with the studio to bring those familiar with the sport to the theater…they set up other screenings for inner city programs in places like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Dallas…to give young people of color a chance to understand the values of the film tied to the sport, with the hopes of making the diversity pie bigger. Is it a stretch when you see an all white make team aspiring higher in the film? Not really, because these young men who won gold literally came from almost nothing, and the values of the film (especially the theme of Eight as One…all moving together) has messages way beyond the racial makeup of the team.
Third were other partnerships…from Orange Theory to Hydrow…which linked brands and promotions to the film, especially for the health conscious person of today who loves the workout, but might have passed on rowing as a training format. Even though it is inspired by historic events in the 1930’s, the basic tonal workout you get from rowing has not changed, and having two of the most elite fitness brands in the world tied to promotion should win for all.
Will this film drive millions of people to suddenly jump into a rowing skull? No. But what it will do is to inspire those around the sport, find elements of promotion to engage in relevant conversations around DEI, help bring in some needed funds, retell a story to a larger audience, and yes, remind us of the power of sport, especially when brought to a big screen.
The Boys In The Boat is a real life success, from a business and media perspective today for an Olympic sport as it was when the crew took first in Berlin. It is a worthwhile watch for everyone, and who knows, might inspire others to go beyond their limits, from the casual trainee to the world class athlete. A film to be enjoyed at the right time.
