The Sports Brief: Liquid IV x LAFC; Athletes for climate change and more
Mastercard has announced it has expanded its global sports portfolio to include the world of sailing with its partnership with the Rolex SailGP Championship team at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix Grand Final November 29-30. Beyond the partnership, the company is also backing the Black Foils (New Zealand) SailGP team. The partnership includes branding SailGP’s signature après-sail waterfront hospitality experience and serving as the official payment partner across the event.
Liquid I.V. announced it has become the Official Functional Hydration Partner of the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) through the 2025-2027 seasons, marking the brand’s first sports team sponsorship. The partnership will include the brand’s presence on the team jerseys, pre-match activations on site at LAFC home games, integration of Liquid I.V. products into concessions at the team’s home stadium, an upcoming launch campaign and more. Additionally, the LAFC Performance Center at Cal State LA was renamed as the Liquid I.V. Performance Center, which was commemorated by the brand’s CEO Mike Keech and team co-presidents John Thorrington and Larry Freedman at a recent ribbon cutting.
Image courtesy Liquid I.V., used with permission.
Evan Williams and creative media agency Method1 launched “Bourbon Nation,” a collegiate sports sponsorship program bringing the Heaven Hill-owned bourbon brand to eight colleges including The University of Alabama, University of Florida, Texas Christian University, Syracuse University, The Ohio State University, The University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon and University of South Carolina through game day activations and bespoke bars on-site at home stadiums and bar carts at exclusive tailgate activations at college stadiums where the schools’ teams are playing.
Image courtesy Evan Williams, used with permission.
Wedding Crashers stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn return for Xfinity’s latest national ad to kick off the NBA season. In the fun spot created by Preacher, RSA and Dobkin, the duo teamed up with basketball legend (and notoriously proud league and overall menace) Reggie Miller to pitch the Comcast-owned streamer as the best destination for sports viewing and streaming.
Actress, producer, entrepreneur and SanDiego FC co-owner Issa Rae, who recently lent her voice to MLS’ All for the Cup campaign spot, stars in the first of three episodes for a social series promoting the Audi 2025 MLS Playoffs running across the league’s social channels. Starting Eleven produced the videos, which were led creatively by MLS creative director Roman King.
FanDuel launched Back In The Game, its first creative spot for its partnership with Amazon Prime Video featuring NBA on Prime analyst Blake Griffin, with the retired NBA star phoning up Wednesday actor Luis Guzman to teasingly ask if he’s “ready to play again.” The duo will also be featured in another spot for the campaign, which was created in partnership with Arts & Letters Creative Co. The sports betting company announced last month its partnership with the NBA and WNBA on Prime Video as the official odds provider, a deal that will likely be closely watched following the shocking announcement last week of numerous league affiliated individuals who were arrested in an illegal gambling investigation.
Xero Shoes launched its new national campaign for its X1 shoe featuring longtime brand evangelist Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart. Developed by agency Someoddpilot, the spot promotes a growing “barefoot shoes” movement and the brand’s entry into the basketball shoe space.
Adapt2Win, a new campaign and Gates Foundation-backed organization calling on world leaders to prioritize and fund climate adaptation, released a powerful hero spot ahead of the COP30 along with an open letter signed by 41 athletes including NBA player DeAndre Jordan, Brazilian big wave surfer Maya Gabeira, ballerina Misty Copeland, pro soccer player Raheem Sterling, Thai mixed martial artist Stamp Fairtex and Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala. The campaign will also include OOH ads across Belém, Rio and São Paolo, Brazil, throughout the COP30 conference, and features five powerful adaptation stories from Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya and Sierra Leone, profiling the innovation of entrepreneurs and communities who are paving the way.
Brokerage investment firm Stifel released its new national, regional and social campaign touting its sponsorship of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team in anticipation of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Skiers Mikaela Shiffrin, Alex Ferreira, Jesse Diggins and Lauren Macuga are featured in the Known agency-produced campaign’s executions, which will show the team on their Olympic journey.
The Boston Celtics’ “Exclusive Auto, Home and Life Insurance Partner,” Amica Insurance, released its newest regional spot, Piece by Piece, featuring forward Jayson Tatum, and parallels between the building of the parquet floors at the Celtics’ arena, TD Garden, to that of people building their own lives. The spot will run throughout the team’s 2025-26 season.
United Airlines released a new out-of-home campaign, Football Flies United, featuring Kansas City Chief Patrick Mahomes, Chicago Bear Rome Odunze, San Francisco 49er Kyle Juszczyk and Cleveland Brown Jerry Jeudy stepping off flights in their game day looks, using the NFL stars to turn the tarmac into a runway. The work was produced by 72andSunny.
Images courtesy United Airlines, used with permission.
Automaker Lucid announced a new partnership with New York Knicks stars and Roommates Show podcast hosts Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. The brand and agency Giant Spoon released OOH ads and social activations featuring the duo during the team’s season opening game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 22.