'The Paralympic Dream' Isn't All Sunshine and Rainbows

Competing at the Paralympic Games isn’t all bubblegum sweetness and harmony.

Adam&eveDDB launched a :60 to squash such misconceptions and showcase the Games as the nail-biting, competitive sporting events they are.

What begins as a cartoon fairy tale where athletes frolic among flowers to the Paul McCartney tune “We All Stand Together” transitions to real life when British Paralympic taekwondo athlete Amy Truesdale gets kicked to the ground. Animated birds hightailed it outta there fast!

Viewers are left watching what really happens at the Games—fierce competition and a never-give-up spirit. The ad aims to increase viewership and will run in 185 countries across TV, online and social.

Sam Gainsborough of BlinkInk directed the clip, and cain&abelDDB worked on global adaptations of the spot.

“Over the last 75 years, Para sport has grown from a small gathering of injured war veterans to the Paralympic Games becoming the world’s third largest sporting event watched by billions of TV viewers,” says Craig Spence, chief brand and communications at the International Paralympic Committee.

“But despite its stratospheric growth there are many who still see the Paralympics as first and foremost an idyllic event where the athletes are just carefree and happy to be there. Adam&eveDDB’s new film debunks this myth in the most fun and creative way possible.”