The Week’s Best in Sports Advertising

This week in sports advertising, Steph Curry endures a cringe-worthy family dinner, Wendy’s keeps it fresh with some of the industry’s freshest creators, and Foot Locker enlists the help of athletes and musicians to kick off its ‘Week of Greatness’ holiday tradition.

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1. Brita — Home for the Holidays

Agency: mcgarrybowen Chicago

Athlete / Influencer: Steph Curry and Anwar Jibawi

Brita is no stranger to the combo of Steph Curry and comic influencers. After dropping a music video with King Bach that garnered over 3 million views last year, Curry and Brita are back with a holiday-themed faux family sitcom.

The basketball star and Brita spokesperson is joined by four versions of internet star Anwar Jibawi as they bash water bottles around the family table. But the real star of the spot is the Christmas sweater featuring Curry’s face on an elf’s body.

2. Oculus — See it in VR

Agency: Anomaly

Athlete / Influencer: Wiz Khalifa, Adam Levine, Jonah Hill, Leslie Jones, and Awkwafina

The common knock against VR is that the cumbersome headset makes the experience anti-social by nature. Just in time for Santa season, Oculus is out to prove to naysayers that virtual reality is here to connect fans to their friends.

With the help of some well-known entertainers who you’d think have experienced the best of everything, Oculus showcases the wonders of VR. If Wiz is loving life in a headset, imagine what a rockstar you could feel like.

3. IZOD — Sweater of the Future

Agency: In-house

Athlete / Influencer: Aaron Rodgers and Colin Jost

IZOD is tired of the proverbial fashion ad full of good looking models doing things only good looking models can do. With the help of Aaron Rodgers and SNL cast member Colin Jost, the brand puts a comedic spin on fall and winter fashion.

The spot creatively pokes fun at our evolving relationship with AI devices like smart assistants. Who knows, maybe by the time Aaron Rodgers gives up quarterbacking for piano-playing, we will have warmed up to the idea of our clothes talking to us.

4. Wendy’s — Wendy’s Got Me Thick

.@wendys never lets me down.. #ad pic.twitter.com/PXUFuI6JkR

— GET LOVE OVER FEAR ON iTUNES (@dopeisland) October 13, 2018

Athlete / Influencer: DopeIsland and Demetrius Harmon

Wendy’s has no beef with TV advertising, but the brand is infamously strong on social. Thus, it’s no surprise the fast-food chain is hot on the trend of using digital creators and influencers.

This time around, the brand goes short in a less than 30-second spot featuring former Vine stars Demetrius Harmon and DopeIsland “going long” for a hamburger. It racked up 10M views on Harmon’s Twitter post alone.

5. Foot Locker — Week of Greatness

Agency: BBDO New York

Athlete / Influencer: Ben Simmons, Dani Leigh, DJ Kahled, Paul George, Juice WRLD, Meek Mill and more

82 million. That is the combined reach of the influencers in Foot Locker’s latest Week of Greatness spot (just on Instagram!). Foot Locker’s combined reach on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube is only 17 million…

With the help of BBDO New York, the brand nailed the culture-infused spot which is only the beginning of a campaign set to bring to life a week of immersive experiences for sneakerheads spread throughout the country.

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