In honor of Throwback Thursday, Olympic gold medal figure skater and TODAY Olympics contributor Evan Lysacek looks back at a moment he'll always remember: Seeing the first ad campaign that he starred in.
Olympic athletes are unlike any other athletes: We wait for that one big moment every four years when the eyes of the world are on every move that we make. So it’s exciting for us to see ourselves in ads — a billboard, a Coca-Cola can or a TV spot — which is an opportunity that usually only coincides with an upcoming Olympics. It’s surreal, and you feel taken aback to see yourself in any mass media format.
I always loved Ralph Lauren as a kid and I never thought I’d grow up and represent the brand.
The shoot for the Ralph Lauren campaign was in April or May of 2009. The atmosphere of the shoot was very relaxed. I was apprehensive going in — I thought it would be a big to-do. But they wanted the athletes to be comfortable and true to who they are. The whole time I was thinking, “I can’t believe I’m shooting an ad for Ralph Lauren!”
Inside the mind of an Olympic skater: Evan Lysacek shares his rituals
The very first time I saw my ad campaign was in 2010 right before the Vancouver Olympics. I was driving up Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and as I drove past the Ralph Lauren store, my jaw dropped when I saw that the whole store window was my photo. I was so crazed – there was no parking around there so I just put my hazards on, got out of my car, and started taking photos of the window. It gave me chills to see it.
I wonder sometimes in this world that’s saturated with manufactured drama and the fakeness of reality TV, how the Olympics continue to capture people’s fascination unlike any other event. Perhaps it's because it's so different than every event, the dignity of it, its ties to history. Every Olympics, there’s more and more coverage, and more and more companies that want to tie themselves to the Games and to the Olympians.
For me, my first Ralph Lauren ad experience is something I’ll never forget — and I’m happy that these days, sports like bobsled and luge are starting to be featured prominently in these ads, so those athletes get the same opportunities to be in the spotlight.