--- title: "USA Swimming Dives Head First Into Bold New Ad Campaign" id: "24226" type: "post" slug: "usa-swimming-dives-head-first-into-bold-new-ad-campaign" published_at: "2014-07-24T19:28:36+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:23:11+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/07/24/usa-swimming-dives-head-first-into-bold-new-ad-campaign/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/07/24/usa-swimming-dives-head-first-into-bold-new-ad-campaign.md" excerpt: "The governing body that represents the swimming field during the Olympics wants to get kids interested in the sport at a competitive level. To do that, it has launched an ad campaign that relies on a lot of cannonballs." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AI" - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Marketing" - "sports law" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » USA Swimming Dives Head First Into Bold New Ad Campaign *“Basketball. Softball. Cannonball. Which sounds the most fun to you?”* Based on the clip where this tagline shows up, the first two have some competition: It’s all part of USA Swimming’s strategy to draw children to a sport that tends to get a lot of attention once every four years, during the Olympics, but often struggles to keep interest up the rest of the time. The campaign, [highlighted by the Swim Today website (opens in a new tab)](http://swimtoday.org/) , aims to sell kids on team swimming as an alternative to soccer, football, or other sports. > They know our product is on the shelf, but they’re just not thinking about us the same way. Swim Today notes that this has been a lingering problem for the sport: While many families take children to swim lessons, 80 percent don’t stick around to participate in competitive swimming. “Once their child begins swimming on a team, they see benefits of the sport that they never realized before,” [the site explains (opens in a new tab)](http://swimtoday.org/about) . “We want to spread that message and make sure all parents know just how great the sport of swimming can be.” According to Matt Farrell, chief marketing officer for USA Swimming, parents don’t think of swimming in the way they think about many competitive sports. “We don’t need to teach these parents what the sport is, but it’s not entering their consideration set like soccer is or basketball is,” [Farrell told The New York Times (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/22/business/media/usa-swimming-promotes-cannonballs-instead-of-football-.html) . “They know our product is on the shelf, but they’re just not thinking about us the same way.” Farrell added that the effort is bringing together many traditional competitors in the swimming-products space—such as Speedo, Tyr, and Arena—to present a unified front in encouraging youngsters to swim. The campaign, launched in May, was masterminded by Minneapolis ad agency Colle + McVoy. (Swim Today campaign) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#AI](https://associationsnow.com/tag/ai/) [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Marketing](https://associationsnow.com/tag/marketing/) [#sports law](https://associationsnow.com/tag/sports-law/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [ArticleWhat AI Means for Your Marketing Team (and Your Next Hire) October 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/28/what-ai-means-for-your-marketing-team-and-your-next-hire/) - [VideoRecap from the 2025 ASAE MMC+Tech ConferenceMay 19, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/19/recap-from-the-2025-asae-mmctech-conference/) - [VideoSneak Peek: Highlights from Day 2 of the 2025 ASAE MMC+Tech ConferenceMay 14, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/14/sneak-peek-highlights-from-day-2-of-the-2025-asae-mmctech-conference/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F07%2F24%2Fusa-swimming-dives-head-first-into-bold-new-ad-campaign%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !