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As one of the NCAA’s “Corporate Champions,” AT&T is typically granted carte blanche to have year-round activation presence at all its championship games.
It comes as no surprise that the tech and telecom juggernaut expanded its omnipresence to include the airwaves during the hotly anticipated March Madness tournament.
This year, the brand unleashed “Madness Loves Company,” a full 360 campaign that includes four spots from creative partner BBDO LA that will run throughout the games airing on both CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The first of the four spots, “Vicky’s Squad,” premiered during Selection Sunday (March 12). It features former NCAA players for Gonzaga and South Carolina, Chet Holmgren and A’ja Wilson.
In the spot, Holmgren and Wilson—who now play for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, respectively—are part of a squad watching the game on a driving range, completely unfazed by the balls hitting their cart, but are momentarily inconvenienced by an incoming “car warranty” spam call interrupting the action on the phone.
The scenario presents a perfect opportunity for AT&T’s longtime spokesperson, Lily, to inform the squad about the ActiveArmor feature that protects customers from unsolicited calls.
In “Arms for Days,” former Pitt Panther and current Memphis Grizzlies player Steven Adams lends his extensive limbs (and shoulders) to Lily and a couple of grateful fans for an elevated game-viewing experience in a nod to the reach of the brand’s 5G network.
The tongue-in-cheek “One and Done” might hit Kentucky Wildcats fans in the feels. In addition to taking place in the office of the team’s famed coach, John Calipari, it finds the ever-helpful Lily trying to encourage senior player Jacob Toppin to “Do the Kentucky thing” and take advantage of AT&T’s Galaxy Phone Trade-in policy to upgrade his phone and “go to the next level.”
Oklahoma City Thunder player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—himself a Kentucky “one and doner”—makes a cameo appearance to chime in on the decision, alluding to the school’s reputation for churning out early NBA Draft picks, as the team’s mascot acknowledges the cheeky jab, and Toppin deftly declares his intent to switch (phones) when he’s ready.