Valentine’s Day marketing for oblivious significant others writes itself around this time of year. “Seeking a gift for that special someone? Tell her how much you love her with a [random floral arrangement/oddly brown diamond/set of lingerie you didn’t get the measurements for] at [insert brand] today.”

It’s holiday marketing precipitated on not knowing your partner and substituting flowers, jewelry, chocolates and other catch-all gifts for genuine thought. To veteran sports reporter and entrepreneur Erin Andrews, it’s both an insult and an opportunity for her WEAR brand of women’s sports apparel.

Thanks to social media, the pressure of Valentine’s Day has increased, Andrews said. “We’re having a good laugh about how men go for the easy way out for Valentine’s Day with flowers and teddy bears and all that, and it’s like, ‘All right, we’ve seen it all: Let’s help you with a couple ideas.”

WEAR by Erin Andrews produced digitally focused spots featuring Andrews as a John Wick/Atomic Blonde-styled action antihero patrolling the city on a motorcycle and snatching teddy bears, cookbooks and “I Love My Fiance” mugs out of oblivious partners’ hands. Co-produced by production company Liquid Light, Fanatics (which carries WEAR’s gear in its online marketplace) and SMAC Entertainment—the talent, production, brand and consulting agency co-founded by Michael Strahan—the ad highlights missed opportunities not only for consumers, but for short-sighted brands.

Marketers could easily cede this spot on the calendar to Super Bowl ads or the usual Valentine’s Day suspects, or they can make a memorable impression that captures an underserved share of the market.

“Nobody in sports owns Valentine’s Day,” said Constance Schwartz-Morini, co-founder and CEO of SMAC Entertainment and a partner in WEAR. “It’s a time of year that you have every sport in play, so we are going to plant our flag in Valentine’s Day for WEAR by Erin Andrews.”

Everyone’s game

Just before the pandemic, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell noted that 47% of his league’s nearly 188 million fans were women. WEAR by Erin Andrews launched in 2019 and started by producing apparel for NFL teams. Andrews would hand clothing to Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes to give to his wife Brittany. She shared pieces directly with Gracie Hunt, whose parents own the Chiefs.

When she wraps up an interview with quarterback Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field, she heads over to the pro shop to talk to buyers. When Hoda Kotb puts on one of WEAR’s New Orleans Saints beanies for an episode of The Today Show around Christmas or the NFL features one of WEAR’s 49ers jackets during a playoff preview, Andrews is still ecstatic. On the field during the NFC Championship game, Goodell’s wife Jane approached Andrews and said she wanted to wear her jacket.

“Our biggest thing is just growing the awareness, getting it in people’s hands,” Andrews said. “We’re the only brand at the game: I am literally at the game taking pictures with fans, listening to what they like and to what they don’t like, signing their WEAR products.”

It’s been working. According to Fanatics, sales of WEAR products on its networks were up 100% year over year in 2022 and have nearly doubled each year since the line launched in 2019. WEAR has expanded from NFL gear to merchandise for the NBA, the NHL and MLB—as well as apparel for 32 college teams. This year, it produced its first licensed Super Bowl apparel.

The brand has recently expanded from clothing into accessories including backpacks and handbags. Among the 400 brands that sell products specifically for women on Fanatics, WEAR sits among the Top 10.

“Similar to some of our productions, where we say we’re the voice for the voiceless, Erin Andrews has filled the void,” Schwartz-Morini said. “Women had such limited choices in product, and so I’m hoping that this spot gets the attention and gets the response it deserves.”

Feeling seen

In the multiple cuts of its Valentine’s Day ad, WEAR went as broad as possible to not only be inclusive, but easily shoppable. When a woman offers her girlfriend a $10 coupon for chocolates in one clip, for example, Andrews appears with a T-shirt cannon loaded with what’s later labeled on screen as a Dallas Cowboys knit hat and varsity jacket. 

“As a woman who’s literally been in the sports and entertainment industry my whole career, I understand what it means to not be seen and not be heard,” Schwartz-Morini said, adding that Andrews’ personal brand has brought more women into the fold in recent years. 

While Schwartz-Morini noted that Andrews’ fanbase was more male-dominated a decade ago, the balance shifted after she partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on Dancing with the Stars in 2010. Teaming with fellow sportscaster Charissa Thomson on iHeart’s Calm Down podcast also earned Andrews more fans among women and, Schwarz-Morini said, more attention from sponsors.

Both Andrews and Schwartz-Morini said they’re hoping the overriding messages of the 60-, 30- and 15-second versions of the ad resonate far beyond Valentine’s Day. Yes, they want Valentine’s Day gifts to be more thoughtful and for those giving them to actually know their partners, but they also want the women watching games, buying season tickets and winning fantasy leagues to feel seen.

“We’re for women, by women. we see you and we want to be on everyone everywhere,” Andrews said. “It doesn’t matter your age, what you look like, who you cheer for, your size—we just want to make sure that our female fans are being catered to and taken care of.”