LA28 launches first ad and slogan 600 days before the Games

With more than 600 days to go until the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics, the LA28 organizing committee has released its first ad and announced the official Games slogan: "Stars Align." The move lands less than a day after the 2026 World Cup cycle and mirrors ESPN's decision to drop its first 2027 Super Bowl ad within 24 hours of the 2026 NFL season's end — a sign of how early marketers now open their biggest-event playbooks.

CMO Alex Merchán said the timing is deliberate. "On the heels of a successful World Cup…we respectfully have to raise our hand," Merchán told Marketing Brew. "We're next up. We're the next big, global sporting event, and so we need to start raising our hands now and generating attention."

What does the first campaign change for practitioners?

The assets are built to rally athletes, fans, and potential volunteers ahead of the Games, Merchán said. They also serve as the starting point for a narrative the LA28 marketing team will build over the next year and a half. In practice, this is a foundation layer: awareness first, activation later.

The campaign film is a 60-second spot running on LA28's website and social channels, as well as on the International Olympic Committee's and International Paralympic Committee's platforms. Merchán described it as a "love letter to Los Angeles." It features shots of iconic LA landmarks, including the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory, and is set to "Can't Stop" by the LA-born Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Why "Stars Align"?

The ad's title doubles as the official slogan of the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Each Games carries its own slogan alongside the Olympic motto, "Faster, Higher, Stronger—Together," and the Paralympic motto, "Change Starts with Sport." Paris 2024 used "Games Wide Open"; Tokyo 2020 used "United by Emotion."

Merchán said LA28 wanted a slogan specific to Los Angeles but broad enough to resonate with athletes and fans worldwide. "Stars" nods to Hollywood, and constellations have long carried storytelling associations, so the symbol works on several levels.

"We really feel that it's going to work in Manhattan, New York, or Manhattan, Kansas, because the meaning and the foundation truly is common, and connects to all these audiences," Merchán said. "This crosses country borders. This crosses languages. This is something universal."

What comes next in the 2027 pipeline?

For now, Merchán and his team are focused on awareness. Most people know the Olympics and Paralympics happen every two years, but organizers still need to tell audiences where and when the next Games take place. Tickets are already on sale, and sports hype in the US is arguably higher than ever.

"We can't take it for granted," Merchán said. "We've got to make sure people know and are aware, and now we've got a platform, a storytelling narrative, that we can build on and make sure people engage and are aware of what's coming."

In 2027, the team plans to roll out another ticket-oriented campaign, issue further calls to action for volunteers, and announce the LA28 mascot. Athletes will remain central to the messaging, Merchán said, because their personal platforms now extend well beyond competition. "More than ever before, athletes have their own platform beyond when they compete," he said. "We've tapped into some of that in the past, and we'll continue doing that in the future."

By Priya Raman