Canadian Paralympic Committee

Canadians know very little about the Paralympics and many confuse it with the Special Olympics. The Canadian team’s relative anonymity makes it harder to attract viewers (and sponsorship dollars) and to inspire the next generation of physically disabled Canadians.

Paralympic athletes epitomize the spirit of the Games. They compete with intensity and push the boundaries of human achievement. There are no million-dollar cheques, they do it for the satisfaction of winning. They don’t want pity; they want gold.

The “Save your Sympathy” campaign captured the rigorous training rituals of Paralympic athletes Ray Grassi (sledge hockey) and Stephanie Dixon (swimming), and brought to life the perseverance, passion and successes of each athlete.

It launched with donated media during the Olympics in newspapers and on TV, as part of the Olympic Consortium. Online seeding and PR also complemented the effort. The first of two TV spots featured Grassi as he prepared for the ice. The entire sequence was shot looking down at him, and closed with the caption, “Sometimes you have to look down to find someone to look up to.” The second spot showed beautiful imagery in reverse slow motion of Dixon training for competition, concluding with the statement, “Save your sympathy for her opponents.”

Total earned media coverage delivered 7.5 million impressions in the first two weeks. An editorial written about the campaign took over the front page of the Toronto Star on March 14, just after the start of the Games.

The 2010 Paralympic Games enjoyed the highest viewership ever, with 13.6 million Canadian viewers tuning in.