As Delta Air Lines makes a strategic shift toward becoming a “lifestyle airline,” separated from competitors by a more premium experience, its marketing efforts are aligning to reinforce this new identity (as are redesigned plane interiors).
This ambition is supported by its long-standing partnership with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, a commitment rooted in the continuous pursuit of excellence and to “keep climbing.” The first 2025 look at this elevated marketing strategy comes in the form of the “Where Champions Fly” :45.
This spot, celebrating Delta’s role as the Official Airline of Team USA on the road to Milano Cortina 2026, aims to connect the brand’s luxury positioning with the spirit of world-class athleticism.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the :45 spot.
The Details:
- “Where Champions Fly” was visually driven, and easily outpaced the average airline ad (past year benchmarks) in breaking through, with Attention in the 82nd percentile and Likeability in the 79th:
- The Olympic visuals made an impression at an above-norm rate, with 31% naming them the Single Best Thing about the new spot (vs 22% average).
- The ad’s engaging and Cinematic scenes sparked Curiosity, and successfully solidified the brand in viewers’ minds, 75% of whom recalled Delta as the advertiser (unaided) after a single exposure (+10 pts over benchmark).
- While the ad succeeded as an Inspiring, top-of-funnel brand piece, it was less powerful in persuasion, as perceived Information or a compelling reason to purchase came in at normative levels.
- “Where Champions Fly” resonated more strongly with males (especially M21-35 and M50+), but significantly underperformed with women aged 21-49, suggesting some level of creative disconnect with a key female demographic, which is a likely contributor to the ad’s consideration that did not surpass norm.
- The Olympic visuals made an impression at an above-norm rate, with 31% naming them the Single Best Thing about the new spot (vs 22% average).
- When compared to four ads from the Summer Olympics campaign, “Where Champions Fly” was a mid-to-low-tier performer, highlighting the higher funnel/strategic application at this stage with the Games still months ahead (with a February 6, 2026 start):
- “Where Champions Fly” landed as one of the weaker spots in the group for driving consumer intent while the clear campaign winner in this regard was “We Measure…” which included a message of measuring not just miles, but time (as precious). “We Measure…” scored significantly above the norm on all components, including on Relevance, proving the message’s connection point.
- A key strength for the Winter Olympics ad (and “We Measure”) was its consistent performance across all traveler segments, from “never” flyers (+12) to “5+ times” flyers (+17). The strength of appeal of several Summer Games ads was also seen across ethnicity.
- “Where Champions Fly” landed as one of the weaker spots in the group for driving consumer intent while the clear campaign winner in this regard was “We Measure…” which included a message of measuring not just miles, but time (as precious). “We Measure…” scored significantly above the norm on all components, including on Relevance, proving the message’s connection point.
- Across age/gender, earlier Delta Olympics ads also showed varying levels of connection but “We Measure” was once again the most broadly appealing of the group:
- Viewer sentiment on “Where Champions Fly” confirmed that the Olympic imagery and athlete footage generated genuine excitement and inspiration, creating strong positive emotions.
- Moreover, high production values kept viewers engaged and created the premium brand perception Delta is attempting to elevate.
- However, the late branding caused the most significant problem with the ad for viewers, which was confusion about what was being advertised. Although many viewers enjoyed the content, some didn’t realize they were watching a Delta ad until the final seconds, tempering engagement and message retention.
- In contrast to “We Measure,” some viewers couldn’t see themselves in the narrative, suggesting a tagline or messaging that more directly connects everyday travelers to the Olympic journey and/or the Delta lifestyle.
- The 2024 ads each included narration and early Delta brand identification.
- Viewer sentiment on “Where Champions Fly” confirmed that the Olympic imagery and athlete footage generated genuine excitement and inspiration, creating strong positive emotions.
Among Male Viewers:
Among Female Viewers:
Sample comments on “Where Champions Fly” :45
“I think the ad was confusing. I thought I knew what the whole ad was about the whole time it was playing because it had all these different sports, so I assumed it was about the Olympics and came to find out the ad is only about Delta Airlines. I don’t see how that had anything to do with it, but the music was good.”
Female 36-49
“I love the Winter Olympics, so I liked seeing all the sports featured. It did seem a bit dramatic for an ad for an airline though.”
Male 36-49
“This ad made me tear up! But in a good way. The music and seeing the characters doing what they loved made me emotional. Beautiful colors, great picture quality and sound. Loved it!”
Female 36-49
“I think it is inspiring to see athletes doing what they do and Delta taking them where they need to be.”
Male 21-35
“Nostalgic about the Olympics, but I didn’t completely understand Delta in that.”
Male 50+
“There was no mention of what the ad was about until the very end, at which point my attention had been lost. It also isn’t very relatable for the everyday person.”
Female 21-35
“The Winter Olympics are awesome, but I feel Delta should have focused a little bit more on themselves.”
Female 36-49
“Excellent! Nicely done showing the different winter game contestants and showing Delta planes.”
Male 50+
“I did not like this ad because number one, I had no idea what brand was being marketed in the ad. It really helps the person watching to at least have an idea of what is being marketed. This ad needs to be redone.”
Female 50+
“I love the Winter Olympics and also Delta airlines. There’s a lot of my childhood memories thanks to these.”
Male 36-49
“It took too long to get to the point. I know it’s an ad. I know the videos of the Olympics are the subject of the ad. So when are you going to tell me what it is and how they are connected?”
Female 21-35
- Followers of most major pro and college sports responded to “Where Champions Fly” at levels that met or exceeded the average airlines ad on the strength of the sporting visuals:
- This allows for media flexibility to achieve higher reach and/or optimize budgets.
- Single Best Thing ratings confirm the particularly strong visual focus of “Where Champions Fly” vs Summer Olympics Delta ads, which tended to have a bit more balance between message and/or brand and visuals:
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Creative Agency: Wieden+Kennedy New York