In the spot, Mr. Curry is surrounded by water as he takes shots
on a CGI-infused basketball court and talks about water. Another
one of his endorsements can be spotted in the Brita commercial, as
he dribbles an Under Armour basketball, and wears that brand's
clothing. "You are what you drink," he says near the end of the
commercial, after taking a sip of water from a glass with the Brita
logo on it.
Brita's use of Mr. Curry will bring it into more sports-oriented
publications and programming than it has focused on before. The
brand has a limited connection to basketball, as Brita is one of
the brands that is part of parent company Clorox's sponsorship of
the Golden State Warriors. It can only use the team's logo in
advertising in a 75-mile radius, however, so most brand work shows
him in a non-descript Under Armour jersey.
Meanwhile, Mr. Curry has an endorsement deal with Muscle Milk
that dates back to 2013. The supplements maker plans to air new
commercials with Mr. Curry beginning next month.
Muscle Milk is trying to court a broader audience of active
lifestyle consumers, said Nikki Brown, chief marketing officer at
CytoSport, which makes Muscle Milk products including powders and
drinks and was bought by Hormel Foods in 2014.
Historically, Muscle Milk has run short campaigns aimed at male
viewers, including a 15-second commercial that featured Mr. Curry
and aired in November.
As the brand tries to win over a broader range of active male
and female consumers, it is stepping up its marketing. It plans to
include Mr. Curry in 60-second, 30-second and 15-second spots that
will begin airing April 19.
"He ties directly to the performance components of the brand but
then also is somebody who has broad appeal and mass appeal," said
Ms. Brown.
The new commercials will feature Mr. Curry, as well as everyday
people participating in a broader array of activities, with the
tagline "Stronger Everyday."
Mr. Schlesinger at Brita and Ms. Brown at Muscle Milk said they
are not concerned about the number of endorsement deals their star
has and say they appreciate his authenticity. Along with Brita and
Muscle Milk, Mr. Curry's other endorsement deals include Under
Armour, JP Morgan Chase, Degree, JBL and Kaiser Permanente. Mr.
Curry declined to comment through Octagon, where he is represented by Octagon
Basketball Managing Director Jeff Austin.
Mr. Curry is "potentially a very good spokesperson or candidate
to reach or resonate with a younger audience," said YouGov
BrandIndex CEO Ted Marzilli. YouGov BrandIndex Profiles' research
suggests that Mr. Curry reaches a hard-to-target group of young men
that spends a lot of time online, though he does not have a fan
base as large as that for NBA star LeBron James.
For Brita, using Mr. Curry in advertising may trigger the
reminder that people, including younger brand users, need to
replace their filters more often. "You can get that initial
purchase, but then it's reminding the consumer to continue" buying
and changing filters, said Erin Lash, a Morningstar analyst who
follows Clorox.
Another way the brand is trying to solve the reordering dilemma
is testing a pitcher that instantly reorders filters with
Amazon.
Clorox does not disclose media spending but according to data
from Kantar Media it spent about $10 million on measured media for
Brita last year. Brita's media spend will increase this year, as
the brand goes back to print, where it has not appeared for some
time. It will advertise in publications including Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, Men's
Fitness, Parents and People. It is also adding sports-related sites
such as Sports Illustrated and NBA.com, in addition to out-of-home
advertising. The commercial is set to appear during live games on
ESPN, TNT and NBA TV.
DDB San Francisco is Brita's agency for TV,
digital and print work, with Current and Swirl on other projects such as social
campaigns, and OMD and AKQA on media buying.
Muscle Milk's creative agency is Mekanism, with Haworth on media buying and
Laundry Service working on digital and social
elements.
