This Week’s Best in Sports Advertising

This week in sports advertising, CHEQ hires a new Chief Blocking Officer, Rickie Fowler stars for Farmers Insurance, and social good campaigns from Infiniti and Verizon aim to raise awareness.

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1. Infiniti — Timeout For The Win

Agency: Crispin Porter Bogusky

Athlete / Influencer: Roy Williams

Infiniti kicked off their Timeout for the Win campaign with this spot featuring University of North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams and Rameses, the school’s mascot. The spot features a test drive while raising awareness for the campaigns real cause: cancer awareness.

The auto manufacturer is set to donate $1 million to Coaches vs Cancer as part of the campaign, with 48 NCAA Division 1 coaches competing for votes and the top three having a donation made in their name. The campaign, by Crispin Porter Bogusky, is set to continue until mid-March across linear and social.

2. HyperX — We’re All Gamers

Agency: Envoy

Athlete / Influencer: Joel Embiid, Post Malone, Shroud & Gordon Hayward

HyperX enlisted the help of Envoy to create the We’re All Gamers campaign which is set to feature heavily across NBA programming through the rest of the season.

This influencer driven campaign features athletes from traditional sports and emerging sports alike and personifies their gaming profiles. The intersection of traditional sports and esports continues with this 30-second spot exemplifying the power of athletes, gamers, and celebrities alike to grab and hold the attention of young fans.

3. Verizon — The Team That Wouldn’t Be Here

Agency: McCann

Athlete / Influencer: AJ McCarron, Clay Matthews & Anthony Lynn

The Team That Wouldn’t Be Here is a series of short films by Verizon profiling twelve individuals in the NFL (11 players and 1 coach) and the first responders who saved their lives. The brand debuted the ad during the NFL’s conference championship games, and is set to continue the emotional storytelling during their Super Bowl spot.

4. CHEQ — Greatest Blocker

Agency: In-House

Athlete / Influencer: Dikembe Mutombo

When it comes to blocks, Dikembe Mutombo’s still got it, that’s why he has been hired by ad fraud and brand safety company CHEQ as their new CBO (Chief Blocking Officer). CHEQ created the ad in-house and the simple nod to all things ‘block’ makes the spot funny and also aligns perfectly with their brand.

5. Farmers Insurance — Farmers Insurance Open

Agency: RPA

Athlete / Influencer: Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler has featured in Farmers Insurance commercials before, but they’ve always been about insurance. This time around he had the opportunity to show what it takes to get ready for the Farmers Insurance Open in a new way: comedy.

The brand enlisted the help of RPA to put together the campaign which was distributed across the social channels of Fowler and Farmers Insurance. In a sport where player personalities may not be as visible as those of other leagues, Farmers Insurance leveraged the charming personality of one of golf fans’ favorites to drive engagement.

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