Powerade Teams Up with College Basketball Stars Flau’Jae Johnson and Isaiah Collier for March Madness Ads

Powerade is the latest brand to leverage NIL talent in its ads for March Madness.

In its March 17th ads, Powerade featured LSU Tigers star Flau’Jae Johnson as well as USC Trojans star and lottery prospect Isiah Collier. Powerade had announced Flau’Jae and Isaiah as its newest athlete partners in January. In addition to its March Madness campaign, Powerade has teamed up with over 40 additional NIL athletes from different colleges and universities across the country to create digital and social media content for their own channels.

In addition to advertising on TV, Powerade also plans to participate in the conversation during the March Madness tournament during key moments on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Tom Gargiulo, CMO of Bodyarmor Sports Nutrition, expressed enthusiasm for the latest campaign launch by Powerade, emphasizing its role in maintaining the brand’s momentum since its rebranding in 2023. Notably, POWERADE has experienced five consecutive weeks of category share growth this year. This campaign signifies the brand’s ongoing commitment to investing in college sports. Gargiulo looks forward to seeing the campaign unfold and observing athletes like Flau’jae and Isaiah as they compete in March.

“Powerade has such a deep history in college sports and we’re the Official Sports Drink of March Madness, so it was a no-brainer to team up with two of the best college basketball players in the game today for a campaign ahead of the tournament and work to build off the great momentum the brand saw in 2023,” said Gargiulo.

With this campaign, Powerade continues to invest in college sports in a significant way. A number of college football players, including Jared Verse and Jayden Daniels, have partnered with Powerade in recent years. Powerade wants to strengthen its position in the college sports landscape and foster deeper relationships with its target audience by expanding its collaborations with notable athletes. NIL is being leveraged to enhance the brand’s marketing initiatives and drive sports enthusiast engagement through the brand’s strategic approach.

Aside from Powerade, RITZ is also taking advantage of NCAA March Madness to promote its new RITZ Toasted Chips offering with the help of top college athletes. On April 6th, Garguilo confirmed that Powerade will also have an in-person fan fest activation in Phoenix, AZ in the same manner as RITZ.

“The ability to activate NIL influencers during March Madness adds another dimension to brand marketing around such major sporting events,” said Sarah Boyd, Co-CEO and CRO of The Digital Dept. “Viewers can see their personal favorite athlete influencers speak to the brands, rather than just noticing commercials and logos during the games, and will therefore relate to the story being told through the brand campaign.”

The recent changes in sports industry rules have allowed athletes to finally monetize their name, image, and likeness. As a result, they are now able to increase their visibility and attract more brand partners who are willing to pay higher fees for endorsements. This has created a new opportunity for athletes to build their personal brand and secure a stable source of income outside of their sports career.

Despite the NCAA’s NIL allowances, Britt St. George, co-founder of Smith&Saint, a talent agency, says there remain many questions about compliance and what constitutes pay-for-play. Under Rule 40, Olympians cannot extend their NIL during the Games in the context of Rule 40, but they can structure agreements to unlock medal bonuses. Olympians, however, may structure agreements to unlock medal bonuses.

“Collegiate athletes may be able to freely lend their NIL during the tournament, but likely may not structure agreements that provide for bracket and/or round bonuses, which may constitute payment for wins,” said St. George. “As the space continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these rules may change, and what inherent rights collegiate athletes have in their ability to make a living off of their own name, image, and likeness.”