For Chase to get Stephen Curry, Kevin Hart, and A’ja Wilson on its team for a new campaign, it had to bring more to the partnership than its logo and some scripted one-liners.
In an exclusive preview for ADWEEK, Chase launched the latest ad in its “Cashback Like a Pro” sports marketing campaign, pairing the Golden State Warriors’ four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, and newly minted Olympic gold medalist Stephen Curry with People’s Choice Award-winning actor and comedian Kevin Hart. After reimagining Curry and former Warriors teammate Klay Thompson’s Splash Brothers pairing as the Cash Brothers during the 2023 NBA playoffs and bringing in Allen Iverson later that year to not talk about practice, Chase teased a tip-off between Curry and Hart earlier this year.
During this year’s NBA conference finals, the two finally delivered in a spot featuring Hart taking Curry to a gym to determine who’s the C.O.A.T.: the greatest Cashbacker of All Time. (It’s an ad for Chase Freedom rewards, after all.) Hart opens the first two possessions, mocking Curry with the 1% cash back he’s earned on finger paint while the notoriously long-range shooter comes nowhere near the paint under the rim.
After draining two shots over Hart’s head from outside, Curry responds that he’s earned 3% back on barbecue—and that Hart’s getting smoked on the court.
Suddenly, a shot comes in over both of their heads, hitting nothing but net as reigning two-time WNBA champ and reigning MVP A’ja Wilson—in a fresh pair of her namesake Nike A’Ones—informs them that she earned 5% back on her flight in… and will politely leave with the C.O.A.T. title.
With Curry connected to Chase for nearly a decade, Hart signing on six years ago, and Wilson announcing her partnership with the brand earlier this year. Chase has assembled a team that it knows from experience can connect with its core audience. But the product Chase and its agency partners put on screen is just the surface of the deeper connections it’s been trying to build with both its stars and their fans.
“We have a really incredible base of customers who carry Freedom cards, and we want the people that we partner with to exemplify the passions of those customers,” said Chase Freedom gm Wittney Rachlin. “We know that passion of sports. We know the passion of being the greatest of what you do, so having people like this on our roster is incredibly important. It resonates with the ideals of our customers.”
