Cup Noodles Seeks to Connect with Fantasy Football Players Through George Kittle

The Insights

• Cup Noodles Enters NFL Season Marketing with George Kittle and Fantasy Football Focus
• New Campaign Highlights Cup Noodles Stir Fry, Targets Fantasy Football Enthusiasts
• Multi-Channel Strategy and Sweepstakes Enhance Brand Engagement During NFL Season

Cup Noodles is entering the space of marketing around the NFL season for the first time with its new campaign featuring San Francisco 49ers’ tight end George Kittle.

The brand is aiming to tap into a largely underserved market with its new campaign: the fantasy football community. The campaign features a spot titled “Fantasy Fumbles,” where George Kittle guides fantasy football players in avoiding the dreaded auto-draft by opting for the convenient and tasty Cup Noodles Stir Fry. This content will be distributed through a national media buy, including an ESPN app takeover, paid social media, YouTube, and streaming platforms.

Targeting the Fantasy Football Community

The national campaign also launches the Ultimate Draft Experience Sweepstakes, offering football fans the chance to win exciting prizes such as a trip to an NFL game, a virtual meet-and-greet with George Kittle, a year’s supply of Cup Noodles Stir Fry, and a limited-edition Stir Fry Fantasy Prize Pack.

Priscila Stanton, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nissin Foods, emphasized that generating awareness among their fan base and fantasy football players is a top priority for the brand. While many consumers are familiar with and love Cup Noodles, this campaign may be their first introduction to Cup Noodles Stir Fry—a product line featuring delicious Asian take-out style noodles tossed in authentic sauces, with flavors like Teriyaki Beef, Korean BBQ, Sweet Chili, and the new Honey Sesame Chicken.

“We saw fantasy football as the perfect fit for Cup Noodles Stir Fry since it’s a quick and convenient meal that won’t distract you from the focus needed for the draft and season. [Cooking can be time consuming] and is a major factor in football fans missing their draft pick or watching a great touchdown,” said Stanton. “While most people will never play professional football, millions play fantasy football every year and can relate to the struggle of not having the time to make a delicious meal and dominate your fantasy league.”

Stanton also highlighted that campaigns like this one help strengthen their retail relationships by demonstrating that Nissin Foods is bringing fresh and exciting consumer engagement opportunities to the instant ramen category, both in-store and online. This approach differentiates their products from competitors and makes them stand out in the market.

Since he has long been a Cup Noodles fan, George Kittle was enthusiastic about the opportunity even before they discussed the campaign concept in depth. According to Stanton, it is crucial to partner with individuals who have an authentic connection to the brand, since such a connection results in a unique campaign, as demonstrated in this collaboration. The financial agreement between the parties was not disclosed.

Leveraging Social Media and Multi-Channel Strategies to Maximize Campaign Reach

The campaign is running across multiple channels led by a high-impact, fantasy-focused ESPN digital sponsorship to engage fans throughout the most critical weeks of the fantasy season. Additionally, Nissin Foods will deploy YouTube content boosting awareness and consideration among NFL enthusiasts, including prominent placements in the YouTube TV Fantasy View program, in addition to programmatic targeting to reach the Cup Noodles audience. It is unclear how much the brand spent on advertising its campaign.

Stanton explained that, given Gen Z and millennials primarily get their news from social media, their campaigns are designed to maximize the use of these platforms. They shared the “Fantasy Fumbles” content on Cup Noodles’ own channels, with George Kittle also posting it on his Instagram and TikTok. The campaign saw great engagement, garnering over 40,000 views on its first day, according to the social media analytical platform Hootsuite. To further increase awareness among NFL fans, the content was also deployed on YouTube, including prominent placements in the YouTube TV Fantasy View program and through programmatic targeting.

“We’ve always been interested in diving deeper into the world of sports with our marketing campaigns,” said Stanton. With fantasy football, we saw an opportunity to continue to expand with one of our key audiences and tap into a part of sports culture that has seen tremendous growth in recent years.”

Amid the challenges posed by Google’s cookie changes, frequent updates on X/Twitter, and the rapid growth of TikTok, Cup Noodles has adjusted its marketing approach to prioritize privacy while still delivering personalized experiences. This year, Cup Noodles has focused on partnering with key players who provide strong, durable identifiers across top ad technology platforms, retail media networks, and publisher collaborations. These strategic partnerships have been essential to their marketing efforts, particularly in executing their Fantasy Football campaign.

“As we navigate the evolving privacy-centric landscape, we are excited about the ongoing innovations that will allow us to continue delivering relevant and effective messaging,” said Stanton.