Facebook picks up skateboarding for new Tokyo Olympics-themed spots

In three new ads released in time for the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Facebook is shining a spotlight on skateboarding. The choice of sport is not unusual, considering that skateboarding is one of five new sports added to this year’s summer games. Created by Droga5, a series of ads promote the apps in the Facebook family of apps – Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

All the ads have one common theme – “We change the game when we find each other.” The ads attempt to illustrate how the brand’s various platforms have helped nurture the communities by being the starting point for communication, hence, allowing skateboarding to evolve into a globally accessible sport.

“The skateboarding debut at the Olympics this summer felt like the perfect moment to tell stories about how the sport has also evolved to become more inclusive and illustrate the role Facebook’s suite of apps have played – helping people find each other in sports and beyond – to build great things,” said Felix Richter, Droga5’s co-chief creative officer, in a statement, as reported by The Drum.

This campaign also features a short film by acclaimed commercial filmmaker Juan Cabral, titled Once Upon a Time Everywhere, which uses surreal slow-motion photography to tout Facebook's Oculus VR headsets.

The campaign also tells the story of a group of Ghanian skateboarders, who collectively call themselves 'Skate Nation'.

The choice of sport makes more sense when you consider the fact that skateboarders and skateboarding fans have a notable presence across Facebook platforms. Nearly 34 million users follow skateboarding creators on Instagram, while Facebook is home to skateboarding groups and communities with over 5.7 million users, according to The Drum.