Samsung has created music designed to enhance an Olympic athlete’s performance

Samsung and Optus, official Olympic partners, have launched Performance Enhancing Music, personalised audio tracks scientifically designed to create a physical and mental response in athletes hoping to help them perform at their best. We patiently wait for a general public playlist…

Something called isochronic tones are integrated into the music using specific beats per minute – they’re essentially tones that are rapidly turned on and off to create sharp pulses of sound. These are used alongside personal mantras and moments from former successes for each of the athletes who the tracks were used on. The tracks have been created for Olympians Mack Horton, Poppy Starr Olsen, and Steph Catley, as well as Desleigh Owusu, Lexi McLean and Alana Withnall. The scientific research and testing of the athletes was overseen by professor Frank Millward PhD and Dr Damien Lafont PhD.

Music producers in LA, Tokyo and Melbourne made the tracks in collaboration with artists such as Sheppard, Karnivool, San Cisco and Alex the Astronaut.

Each of the athletes has their own audio track with them during their time in Tokyo, accompanied by Samsung Galaxies and Buds. Samsung hopes their products, alongside the music, will form part of the athletes regular training regime and pre-performance preparation. People can also take the stems of the tracks and personalise them to create their own unique Performance Enhancing Music, or PEM.

The campaign for PEM is being delivered by advertising agency CHE Proximity and it launches with a short documentary. The campaign is supported through content across the mediums film, digital, social, OOH and media integration.

Creative directors at CHE Proximity, Richard Shaw and Jeremy Hogg, claimed that the Olympics is “the biggest stage of all”, so for them to be able to positively enhance an athlete’s performance is “incredible”.