One of the biggest challenges for a company is not only to make its brand notable in a highly competitive market, but also to penetrate other niches. That is why collabs have become more and more frequent, as they assure brands a farther reach and the possibility of exploring new markets.
This is what has been happening for years with food and beverage brands that put together sports and music personalities as a way of adding more value to their product and of course increasing their sales potential. Let’s remember or learn some of these examples:
One of the most iconic commercials in the history of sports premiered at the intermission of Super Bowl XXVII back in 1993, in which Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played a long game of HORSE worth a Big Mac Combo. The ad was so successful , that McDonald's decided to launch another commercial the following year, still with the duo's competition, but with even more unlikely shots.
'Black Entertainment Television', well known for the BET Awards, an award that honors African American artists from music, sports and other areas of entertainment, also hosts the 'BET Experience: Sprite Celebrity Basketball Game', an event sponsored by Sprite in which it promotes a basketball game between celebrities. The brand explores the visibility of the event, betting on conventional marketing strategies, such as brand exposure, among others. Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown and French Montana, are some of the stars that have already been 'drafted'.
Sometime later, Sprite bets on yet another partnership, this time with LeBron James for the launch of “6 Mix”, a drink that combines Sprite's traditional refreshing flavor with a touch of cherry and orange. In addition, fans who purchased the product could unlock various rewards on a brand hot site such as wallpapers, music and participation in sweepstakes.
Still in the wave of celebrity games, Ruffles became, from 2018 on, the presenting brand of that moment on the NBA's 'All Star Weekend'. In addition to linking their name and stamping their logo on uniforms, they created “The Ridge”, a 4-point line similar to the chip format to raise funds in partnership with Special Olympics, in addition, they invited fans to participate in the event through “Live Like a Baller” campaign. The brand also profited from the occasion to launch the new flavor “Lime & Jalapeño”, developed and signed by Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis. It would be the first collaboration with athletes in Ruffles’ history.
At the height of Michael Jackson's career with his then recently released Thriller, the king of pop sang with Pepsi the biggest collaboration contract of that time. The partnership that lasted approximately 10 years, would influence the way that other brands would develop their marketing campaigns.
Imagine arriving at a park to play a routine basketball and being overwhelmed by a 60-year-old man, this is Uncle Drew, a fantasy character created by Pepsi and played by Kyrie Irving in 2013. Campaign created to promote the launch of Pepsi MAX, was divided into 4 chapters and had the participation of great 'supporting actors' such as Nate Robinson, Maya Moore, Bill Russell, Kevin Love, among others, having more than 57 million views on YouTube in chapter 1. The character became so popular that it went on to become a movie in 2018.
One of the first brands in the history of the sport to stamp the package logo of its products with athletes was Wheaties. Since 1933, the idea was to associate cereal, one of the most common foods in American homes, with champions. The collab that initially brought baseball players, strolled through the most diverse sports with Muhammad Ali, Elinor Smith (first woman in 1934), Michael Phelps, arriving at basketball with Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Bill Russell, Kyrie Irving and many others with highlighted distinction to Michael Jordan, who leads the number of appearances on the “breakfast of champions” packages, with a total of 18.
Gatorade, a brand well known for supplying its isotonic beverages for different modalities, signed its relationship with basketball in 1992 with the commercial “Be Like Mike” , ever since, the brand has partnered with the sport to always focus on hydration and performance of athletes. It has also given rise to iconic collaborations with sneaker brands - since the launch of the “Be Like Mike” pack consisting of a Nike Air Jordan 6, Nike Air Jordan 1 and a Jordan XXXII (all in the colors that refer to beverage packaging) 4 exclusive Nike PG4 colorways: Gatorade, Gatorade All-Star, Gatorade White and Gatorade 2K Gamer Exclusive .
From 2001 to 2003, the Italian company Ferrero bet on Kobe Bryant to be the ‘poster boy’ on Nutella’s brand labels. The idea was to tie the image of the athlete who lived in Italy during his childhood and show his relationship with the product that was always available in his locker room at Staples Center.
Mountain Dew has been one of the companies deeply involved and engaged with basketball, always very present in the NBA's All-Star Weekend editions, whether presenting the “3 Point Shoot Contest” or the “Rising Stars Challenge”, or yet through several ads during the event. In 2016, they announced the new partnership with Russell Westbrook, the brand actually launched a commercial that exalted the player's authentic personality and created, together with the artist Naturel, limited editions of cans with the athlete's face on them.
Organizer of the tournament that brings together the best college basketball in the United States since 1977, the McDonald's All Star Game, the brand of the golden arches in collaboration with Adidas basketball arm, Adidas Hoops, launched a collection of 4 models with themed colors based on their products: Dame 6, Harden Vol. 4, D Rose 10 and T Mac 1. Available since July this year, sneakers have not yet fully caught on among sneakerheads. 
In Brazil, McDonald’s had a publicity campaign that became memorable in the Game of the Stars of 2018 at Ibirapuera Arena in São Paulo. If any of the teams exceeded the 100-point mark, everyone in the gym would win a Big Mac. Well “all was said and done”! The action was a success and it was renewed once again in the following year's edition.
