Eli Lilly, W+K Go Back to the Future for Olympic Push

An Eisenhower-era instructional film provides inspiration

The narration from a 1954 educational film offers a timeless lesson about science, sports and everyday life in a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic campaign from Eli Lilly and Wieden+Kennedy.

“We’ve taken for granted a lot of the progress that has been made in our culture today: landing triple axels, breaking records, eradicating diseases, finding medicines for seemingly impossible conditions,” ECDs Pierre Jouffray and Derek Szynal tell Muse. “But progress hasn’t come easy. It’s come from persistence and determination. Trying and failing. Learning. And then trying again. It’s come from people not letting ‘impossible’ stop them.”

Acclaimed directors T.J. Martin and Daniel Lindsay weave together science and sports imagery that spans many decades. Their documentary style—precise and appropriately chill—strips away the hype and focuses on personal commitment and hard work. This sober, understated approach stands in stark contrast to the flashy commercial fare that permeates the Games and other big-time sports broadcasts. It feels clinical, yet compelling.

“Whether it’s Olympians, everyday people, or Lilly, progress comes from a rigorous, tried and true process. One that is never over,” according to Jouffray and Szynal.

The work equates Olympic glory to scientific rigor because, “In a world full of shortcuts and quick fixes, this process has proven to be the most reliable way long-term progress is made—whether in the games, or in the lab.”

The audio consists of “a real recording, with some reenactment, from a decades-old educational video describing the scientific method. It was important then, and is still important now.”

Here’s the original clip in all its grainy, Eisenhower-era glory:

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