This is why brands love sports stars

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0:21Hi, happy Friday. This is Stylish. I am your co-host, Madison Sullivan Thorpe. I am joined by my other fabulous co-host and dear friend, Rhiannon Joyce. Hello, hello. Look, if you don't know by now, I feel like I'm still saying this like it's new. And we are, but I feel like we've done enough of these now. But I can just say this is the corner of Stylish. We discuss brand campaigns, the things that we were chatting at, wine bars that we now chat about on mic. And career stories. But I think it's important you say that up top because we will have new listeners join us and we have to honour our content promise.

0:52And that is our content promise. So you're just doing your job, Matt. I'm just doing my job. If you're new here as well, content promise is one of Rhiannon Joyce's favourite catchphrases. I think it's a shameless media thing. Do you know what, Rhiannon? Before we get into your word of the week. Yes. One thing that I think you and I should do for our own content promise is that game. I think it's like quite 2020 of me to say this. Okay. But you know with the word game on the iPhone at the top of your head and you have to verbalize like to the other person what it is while they're holding the word.

1:20I think you and I would have some absolutely brilliant ones. We need to do that. We'll do a little video, maybe on our personal channels though, because I don't think the Star Wars team will approve that. No, that's not a content promise. We can do a mix of work ones and then also personal ones. We have been saying this for ages that we need to do that trend. We're doing it. And I think our word bank gets bigger and bigger. I know that people really listen to Stylish because they'll like come up to me and we'll be having a conversation and then they'll be like, well, two things can be true. Or they'll be like, you said what you said or say it with your chest.

1:48Say it with your chest. And I'm like, yeah. I'm like, oh, you really listen. Thanks so much for tuning in. Re, word of the week. Although it's really word of the fortnight because we do these fortnightly. Should we rebrand it? Yeah, and I'm making a bit of a habit of dropping the word of the week at the last moment, not because I don't care about it. it's because I want it to be as topical and as timely as possible. And I have to acknowledge, I didn't really pick this one. You obviously saw it blank. You did. Yeah. And you're like, okay, she's sitting on this. She's simmering. I had a meeting this morning with a client and I came out and Mads had sent me on Instagram in our DMs, the announcement of Sydney Sweeney's brand siren.

2:23And she was like, I think we should talk about this. I updated my notes immediately with one word siren. So thank you, Mads. You're so welcome. And kudos to us because this is probably the first time we've actually brought a singular word to word of the week. Yeah, so congrats to us and to you guys because it's one word. So for those of you that don't know, Sydney Sweeney has just announced the launch of her new lingerie brand, Siren. The reason why I wanted to talk about this because I do think there is a lot of noise. I'm not sure if you guys saw this, but in the past few days, there has been footage of Sydney Sweeney climbing the Hollywood sign.

2:56We're not sure whether or not she had approved to do that or she didn't. It has garnered quite a bit of backlash. It's not sitting well with the internet. For those of you that don't know, the political climate in the US right now, and rightfully so, is very, very volatile. Diet Prada captured a really good post and insightful post on why this didn't land well. So I really recommend looking at that post. But obviously this was a PR stunt to announce the launch of her brand Siren, which actually launched on January 28th. And I don't know if you guys knew this, but this brand is the one that was backed by Jeff Bezos.

3:29So Siren is backed by KOTU Funds and the fund launched last May with$1 billion in funding, including backing from Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell. So some serious, serious heavy hitters backing this brand. Mads, what was your take on the announcement? I have so many thoughts on Sydney Sweeney and I'm going to start there. I know that we are not shameless, so we don't get to talk pop culture. There's something I find really polarising about her. I think, you know, people really love her or they love to hate her. And I use the word hate really intentionally there. It feels like she is a very polarising figure at the moment.

4:04And I just, I loved the idea of this because she is like a sex symbol. I think it's very safe to say. Laundrie feels right for her. Totally. You want to talk celebrity brandings that make sense? It does. She's a busty girl. Size ranges across 44 sizes. I've totally stolen your note on that. I was like, go, that's great. So I think from a branding perspective, this makes sense. What did I make of it all? Oh, God, even if my brand was like ready to go and press play, I just don't know that this is the month. This is not the time. This is not the time. So off. I am seeing a lot of creators in the US really showing up, speaking to what is going on in the US right now and how wrong it is.

4:42It wasn't a great read of the room. I would have loved for their team to hit pause on this and pick it up later in the year, especially because Sydney Sweeney, As you said, a lot of people either love her or hate her. And when there is noise about her, I went through the comments on the complex post that you sent me that announced the launch of Siren. Majority of them were negative. So the sentiment on that post was heavily negative towards Sydney Sweeney and also the brand itself. I don't think this was the smartest or most strategic move for her personal brand. Or this brand as an extension of her.

5:12Exactly. Not a great start. Yeah. Intrigued to see how it goes. Look, as we saw, prices are under$100. It's clearly backed by some heavyweights. but the sentiment for a lot of reasons just not great and as you said a lot of creators and also celebrities coming out and making statements we've had Hayley Bieber reposting we've had Billie Eilish yeah just feel like this one has landed pretty flat right okay so let's get into today's episode Matt do you want to tell us what we're talking about yeah well I mean no rest for the wicked because I think we were on break when we had about an hour-long conversation on this and And I know because I was sitting in the lobby of my apartment building because the convo was too good to get in the lift and lose you.

5:54Yeah, I was sitting by the pool as well. And, yeah, I know, having a other colour, a little margarita. But we've been talking about this for some time, and I guess with the Australian Open, like it was coming up at the time we were having this conversation, I guess it was always rattling around in our brain. But it was why do brands love sport so much? It feels like it's kind of been swelling. Yes, and now the wave has really, really surfaced. Yeah, I would say in recent years, sports stars have become the new influencers. The epitome of influence, I would say, not even influencers. They're on the cover of fashion magazines.

6:33They have partnerships with not just sporting brands. It feels like that's where it started and now it's totally eclipsed. I mean, Gucci gang, Gucci gang, Gucci gang. Well, think about how much you've seen Gucci at the Australian Open. Oh, I love him. Oh, controversial. You're not a sinner girl. I'm a big sinner girl. I feel like a lot of people are polarised by him and also because of the whole doping saga. I personally like him. He seems lovely. I consumed a lot of the Gucci content. Gucci, Gucci, Gucci. Gucci, Gucci. I can't say Gucci without saying Gucci. Gucci. I consumed a lot of the Gucci content.

7:08And Sabalanka hitting balls on a gorgeous Melbourne rooftop wearing head-to-toe Gucci. Also just iconic. The feathers, the hair, the glam. I loved everything about it. But, Rae, this isn't a new thing. No, not new. It's not new. No, it's not new at all. There's actually been a pretty long history of brands working with sports stars. I don't want to go too deep in this, but I think it's important for this conversation that we give you the context of how much brands have really loved sports stars. So it actually started back in the 19th century when newspapers recognized people's desire to read about sports.

7:41They added sports sections to their papers and advertisers really started to flock to them. They recognised this as a new platform to reach new customers. Then came trading cards featuring famous sportsmen and sports endorsements, sponsorships, and marketing became commonplace. I also always think about the early days of brand ambassadorships in sport, always athletes on cereal boxes. Perfect example, Rae. The one that comes to mind and I feel like most people will think of is the Wheaties box. Caitlyn Jenner, who was previously Bruce Jenner, I'm going to use the pronouns he because he won the Olympics as a male, obviously now identifies as female, won the gold for the US, was kind of catapulted to fame on a Wheaties box.

8:22I know. And even most recently, Mary Fowler is one of the leading talent in the Wheat Bix ad. They've gone back to that old school tagline of I'm a Wheat Bix kid. Very nostalgic, which we're seeing that theme play out a lot in marketing at the moment. I absolutely love Mary Fowler. I am going to talk a bit more about her later. I love her too. She's great. We will get into why this works so well for brands after a word from today's sponsor. Summer is the season for extra long lunches with girlfriends, good food and a cocktail or two. So if you need some inspo, 1800 Tequila is coming through with the goods.

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9:40This summer, serve up your most refreshing and impressive cocktails yet. 1800 Tequila can be found at all good bottle shops. Remember to drink responsibly and thank you so much to 1800 Tequila for making this episode of Stylish possible. Okay, let's dive in, Rhi. And look, I do have to laugh because Miranda, a girlfriend of mine who just filled in on eHouse, Miranda Davidson. She's amazing. A star was born. She did laugh because she said, I know that you and Ray share a brain because everyone in that bloody office keeps saying to deepen it, to deepen it. And she said to me, I can't stand when you say to deepen it, but to deepen it, Ray.

10:15We always deepen everything. We always deepen it. What do we think about brands and the affinity towards sport? Why do you feel they're so drawn to it? Why does it work so well outside of just going, okay, you're a gold star athlete. It's exposure? The obvious answer to me is the rate to play. Sport is one of the only things that exists in our world that I believe cuts through cultures and really spans countries. It really, no matter where you're from, I'm going to use football and soccer interchangeably as an example. Yeah, we don't mean football AFL here. No, no, no. Sorry, dolls. We're talking about FIFA.

10:53We're talking Mr. Worldwide. No offense. When it comes to the code of football, That spans across so many countries, so much so that the two most followed people on social media are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both huge, huge sporting talents. So for me, it's because regardless of where you live, what language you speak, people speak the language of sport. Oh, I like that. That just came to me. No, I actually think I stole that from someone else, but I can't remember what it was. It came to me in a dream. I feel like I've definitely heard that somewhere. I don't know. Trademark it. That's why.

11:27Why do you think? I totally agree with you. I even think about like just my own personal experiences. I honestly, from as young as I can remember, spent summer holidays at my grandma's house. We used to watch the Australian Open every year. She would make me stay up. Like that was the only way I was allowed to stay up was to watch tennis together. That was me sitting alongside a 70 year old woman as like an eight, nine year old girl and us loving and enjoying a sport together. Like, I just don't think there's many movie stars, models, influencers or creators that have that pull or cultural activity that brings generations that span that age together.

12:04So I think a lot about that. You even look around, you know, a tennis stadium or a football stadium. It's like, you've got grandparents with their grandsons. You've got parents with their kids. Yeah. How big of a deal is it when, you know, coming back to AFL, I know we were laughing before, but you know, the kids' first AFL game is a big deal. I mean, the amount of like baby AFL Guernseys that go out to households, you know, or that parents are buying both as like this heated rivalry. No pun intended for, you know, the cultural zeitgeist at the moment. But I think, you know, it does bring people together and it creates immediate community.

12:37Exactly. And we know brands want community. We did actually reach out to Dr. Harriet Richards, who is a renowned senior lecturer at RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles, and asked her this question too. She told us, I think a big part of this is because sports stars and athletes are such remarkable humans physically. They are the top performers in various physical feats and fashion and also brands have always been fascinated by celebrity and extraordinary bodies. More recently, I think this intersection between athletes and brands has grown because athletes have become celebrities on a greater scale than ever before.

13:08This feels more true than ever. It feels like, and we were talking about this off mic, which is a big no-no, but just outside we're talking with Mission Zara about this, it does feel like sports stars are more relevant than majority of celebrities. What do you think? Oh, absolutely. Sporting stars are without question, I think, the biggest celebrity on the planet right now. And so are the sporting codes. You look at Drive to Survive on Netflix, Breakpoint on Netflix. We have absolutely commercialised and created an entertainment platform. They have a personality off court now. So they're famous on court and they're famous off court or on field, off field, whatever sporting codes you're talking.

13:49Clearly tennis is top of my mind right now with the Australian Open, you know, ready to wrap up and having been in Melbourne the last two weeks. There's just no bigger celebrity in my mind right now. This is backed by research. So Cantor, which is a leading global marketing, data and insights and consulting company. You still with me? Yep. On average, ads featuring sports stars over index versus others on their ability to earn attention. So your point around celebrity, I think, sets that up quite nicely in the sense that people are really interested in who they are because they have personalities on and off the field.

14:20And also coming back to my point up top, because it's able to span across countries, that means that there's more awareness opportunities and more scope for reach no matter where you're from and what language you speak. Yeah. Because, you know, even you think about movie stars, my dad doesn't know who Timothee Chalamet is. No. And he is arguably one of the biggest actors of our generation. He's probably going to win an Academy Award. Dad literally has no idea who he is. But I bet he knows who Yannick Sinner is. A hundred percent he does. So obviously that's a really small example, but I think it does speak volumes to how much athletes and also sporting teams are of value to brands.

14:58One thousand percent. I could not agree any more with you if I physically tried. So we know there's always a sense of community that sports create. being a sporting fan is almost like being the ultimate community member, which you've spoken about quite a bit. Yeah. It's funny with community, right? Because just by following a particular player or a particular team or even a particular code, you automatically become part of a community. And in a world where brands are so desperate to be seen in community, as we know, to show up in community as discussed, they're automatically a part of it. And part of something bigger than just, you know, being a singular person and enjoying cross-stitching.

15:37Do you have a new hobby that you're interested in, Maddie? Cross-stitching. Can you actually tell me why cross-stitching was the first thing that came to your mind? That is so random. It's so random. It's actually at the top of my mind at the moment because I have a friend, I will let her remain anonymous, who has got into, I think it's called Sparkle Penny, where you put the sparkles in your pictures. Is that why you were - To create like sparkle art, glitter art or something. I've never seen that. I don't know. I'm really trying to be a supportive friend. She's like an addict. Like she had to drive to Kmart the other night because she was.

16:08She's obsessed. Yeah, like fully had finished one and was like, I just need to go. This is the new iteration of adult colouring. However, it is not a sport. Let's talk about the AO. Well, I think that AO has had such fanfare and community because it's really created this like VIC treatment. Yeah. And brands have showed up in a way that doesn't feel like you're being sold to. They've shown up as an extension. Yeah. And by VIC, you mean very important customer. Thank you so much. Oxford Dictionary. right here to my left. I just think those activations, I mean, there's activations spanning across hospitality, across fashion, across beauty, and they feel like genuine extensions of the sport.

16:43I mean, we've got tennis themed donuts. We've got, you know, sweat station, you know, at the Mecca pop up. We've got AO themed merch at Ralph Lauren. Like this is deep, deep integration. And just by way of attending this, you feel like you're part of these special moments. You can buy that limited edition merch. You can have that, you know, interaction with your favourite hospitality venue or that famous sandwich shop in Melbourne that, you know, you usually wouldn't be able to get to. I just think it creates this really great experience for this customer that's there to interact with sport, but by extension, having these amazing branded moments.

17:19The thing about the AO is it's getting bigger and bigger. The numbers are supporting that. We're seeing record-breaking attendance. One thing I think they've done very well is balance big brand integration with localisation. I am obsessed with the fact that they've really tried to prioritise local dining experiences. They've got Hector's Deli popping up. They've got Entrecourt. We are really trying to lean into supporting those local businesses and putting them on a global stage because honestly, the food is fucking good. Yeah. And we're known for that. Like culturally, it makes sense to be profiling Melbourne hospitality because that is what Melbourne is for.

17:53Exactly. So that's amazing to see. But then, as you said, you've also got the Ralph Lauren, the Emirates, the MasterCard taglines, you know, you're seeing it left, right and center throughout the experience. And one thing I want to note is that these partnerships are worth millions and millions and millions of dollars. And they actually include a lot of exclusivity around the grounds themselves. I don't know if anyone else notices this, or maybe it's just because I worked in outdoor, but I am always looking at digital signage sponsors across any sporting code. Those partnerships in of itself, not just hitting the people that are there, but also the broadcasting exposure.

18:28They're worth serious dollars. Oh, I previously worked for Vegemite for a period of time. We sponsored, I like to say we're ahead of our time. A hundred percent. You guys did some of the best campaigns during the AO. So, so reactive. I remember them so vividly. So the AO was like one of my babies. There was a team of us, so it definitely wasn't, there's no I in team, that's for sure. It was like an army, but we sponsored Ash Barty. We got her when she had just returned from cricket. We negotiated for Ash to always have the Vegemite logo when she was playing in Australia. We had the ball kids. That media coverage value is phenomenal.

19:04What I will say though is shout out to the marketers who also know the power of surrounding marketing. Yeah. Marketing adjacent. Marketing adjacent. That's your term. There are just some billboards I'm seeing pop up in close proximity to the Rod Laver arena. And I'm like, you're not the major sponsor. In fact, you're a competitor to the major sponsor, but you know that there's a lot of traffic driving in and out. Very clever, tactile marketing and very sneaky marketing. Yeah. And also anyone who is not a major sponsor of the AO is desperate, desperate to try and piggyback off, one, the people that are going there, but also that view ship.

19:43So, yeah, I've seen a lot of examples of that, especially in Richmond, which for context, for those of you who don't live in Melbourne, is a suburb that the AO kind of bleeds out into. And I would say is like a key hospitality spot. It's very buzzy, lots of bars, restaurants. It is also surrounded by billboards. Surrounded by billboards. Because there's so much traffic that goes through here. The more cars, the bigger the billboards. Literally. You'll know when you're near a freeway. There's big billboards. Yeah, and also the footfall. So the people that are walking from the AO, I mean, the benefit, and I always get so, so proud when I see the, you know, the Falcon view of the AO in Melbourne, how good Melbourne looks and how central it is.

20:22But it's honestly so close to walk around. And Richmond is, I would say, the closest suburb outside of the city to the AO grounds. So you're constantly seeing people walk and sprawl between. So I don't want to even think about the increase in eyeballs that brands are getting. Okay, I'm excited to get into our next segment. We are going to be diving into fashion and sports and why they go hand in hand. But that will be after a word from today's sponsor. Coconut, Tommy's or a spicy jalapeno. However you take it, if your go-to summer drink is a margarita. because let's be honest, whose isn't? Let me introduce you to your new favourite spirit.

20:551800 Tequila is renowned for its smooth, pure taste. So whether you're shaking a cocktail or mixing it with soda, ice and lime, trust me when I say you'll notice the difference. You've tried 1800 Coconut. Now try its very versatile sibling, the 1800 Blanco, available at good bottle shops everywhere. Remember to drink responsibly and thank you so much to 1800 Tequila for making this episode as stylish possible. Okay, so as you said, Rae, we've spoken about, I guess, the interest in sport, the community element of sport, but the relationship between fashion and sport is not a new one. No. But in the 2020s, it feels like fashion in particular has been completely enamoured with sport.

21:39It's like they've gone, hey, we've just, like, unlocked Pandora's box. Look at this buffet of opportunity. So in an Esquire article from 2024, writer Charlie Teasdale wrote that over the last couple of years, sports people have emerged as a must have for any luxury brands roster. Ray, I feel like we could have a whole hour on this. Honestly. Why do you think brands, particularly luxury brands, have become so enamoured and drawn to sports stars? I think this comes back to your earlier point. There is a huge rise in personality led athletes. Yeah. And I would say that fashion is a really, really obvious and strong form of self-expression for athletes.

22:20And athletes have way more opportunities to showcase their personality and style than what we see the likes of, you know, celebrities walking the red carpet, movie stars. Yeah. I want to read this quote from this amazing New York Times piece that our senior producer Kate shared with us as part of our research notes. It's titled The Ultimate Team Sports in fashion. Honestly, go and read it. It's such a good article. Like it's definitely worth the five minutes of your time. Seriously. So Candice Parker, the former WNBA star and the first president of Adidas Women's Basketball said, you have one concert or one fashion event or New York Fashion Week, but we play 40 games in the WNBA.

22:58Each of those 40 games is an opportunity for athletes to showcase their style and their personality. What is she referring to Mads? Oh, let me. I've got a roster. I'm like, roll call. Okay. You've got like the NBA LeBron James walkout. You've got most recently Naomi Osaka's Nike look that she co-created with the Nike team to come out in. You know, she was wearing like this veil. She had an umbrella. It would look like jellyfish inspired by, you know, what her daughter's enjoying at the moment. You look at Travis Kelsey and what he's wearing off the plane. Like they are like wearing some serious luxury brands here.