This month: Sports meets TV meets movies, Barry for berry beverage, Aniston markets collagen and more.
The top 5 celebrity brand collabs you need to know about right now
No 5: Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson x DirecTV, Richard Jefferson, Scottie Barnes and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar x ESPN
Gasp! A tie! Two spots uniting TV brands with sports legends and big-screen favorites? A coincidence too starry to ignore. For DirecTV, baseball greats Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson don the iconic “Ghostbusters” vacuum packs to duke it out with supernatural forces. Who ya gonna call? Sony Pictures to get this crew in the next movie.
An ad for the upcoming film “Jurassic World Dominion” doesn’t look so much like a trailer, but rather finds velociraptors terrorizing the ESPN offices. Commentator Richard Jefferson and Raptors (teehee) player Scottie Barnes get mixed up over the prehistoric creatures and another history books figure: Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A fourth quarter cameo from “Jurassic” franchise favorite Jeff Goldblum equals a dino-sized good time.
No. 4: Jennifer Aniston x Vital Proteins
Beloved actress Jennifer Aniston has long been a proponent of healthy living, but told Ad Age the pandemic has changed our definition of wellness. Her campaign for collagen-based health brand Vital Proteins takes a holistic look at health, both mental and physical, in its promotion for a line of nutrition bars designed by Aniston. Recruiting director Damien Chazelle, the campaign video is a moving scrapbook of Aniston’s wellness journey, offering a little advice to viewers.
No. 3: Barry Manilow x Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper reintroduced its Dark Berry flavor by recruiting the musician to announce it would only return for people named Barry. The original post snagged more than 110 million impressions on Twitter and the Dark Berry timeline takeover saw a 38% rise in engagement for the brand. Dr Pepper followed up the post with another announcing the soda would be released to the masses, whether a Barry, Gary, Larry, Harry, Jerry, Kerry, Perry or Huckleberry.
To the tune of "Copacabana (At the Copa)" by Barry Manilow:
His name was Barry, he was a spokesman
With Dr Pepper in his hand and a name tie-in for brand
He would sell soda to all the Barrys
And while he found Twitter acclaim, Dark Berry sold to other names
No. 2: Rebel Wilson and Jane Goodall x HP
Reading the news is terrifying, but Jane Goodall offers a ray of hope through her work with HP. In addition to doing actual good through the brand’s partnership with Goodall’s foundation Jane’s Green Hope, HP brought a soothing conversation between the climate activist and comedian Rebel Wilson for those with anxiety over living life in 2022. The equal parts funny and sweet dialogue between the women settles on the most important message: it’s not too late to save our planet.
No. 1: Ed Helms x Xfinity
And the grand finale: a Hollywood-worthy romp complete with a CGI beast, spaceships, swordfights and muffins. “The Office” star Ed Helms hops from adventure to adventure, taking on new accents and facing off against goliaths in this spot for Xfinity featuring appearances from FaZe Clan’s FaZe Swagg and pro boxer Evander Holyfield.
Shoutout: Mike Tyson files for trademark based on Holyfield ear-biting