The Tokyo Olympics 2020 games were finally held a year after they were scheduled and gave us new heroes who stretched human achievement to record new highs. They beat incredible odds and in the process they made us reconsider how we do and see things.
For instance, the women’s hockey team’s success showed in sharp relief the herculean effort it takes for a women to survive off the playing field. Take the case of Simone Bile and her sensational decision not to compete – it just shocked the world. However, she did compete in the balance bean finals and went home with a Bronze.
Then there was the story of high jumpers – the Italian and the Qatari who chose to share gold when they tied. These are all instances of determination but also empathy and a new meaning of what it means to be a champion.
But, is it just limited to elite sports? Is it the outcome of the toll that COVID-19 has extracted or is it something deeper? Are young people – Gen Z – rewriting the rules of the game and if that is the case – are brands and marketers ready? To discuss this, Anuradha Sengupta spoke to Rajdeepak Das, CEO & COO of Leo Burnett South Asia; Lipkia Kumaran, senior VP of Brand Consulting at Futurebrands; Manisha Malhotra, Head of sports excellence and scouting at JSW Sports; and Scherezade Shroff, social media influence and content creator.
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