Sports and innovative technology have taken over the marketing & advertising worlds this week. Catch up on all the news you need to know now in our Weekly Must Reads.

How Sponsors Responded to Simone Biles’ Exit

Last week, Simone Biles made headlines when she chose to withdraw from both the team and all-around gymnastics competitions in the Tokyo Olympics, citing mental health challenges. While some questioned Biles’ decision, athletes and celebrities across the globe voiced their support – including her sponsors. Athleta still plans to sponsor Biles in the team’s Gold Across America tour this year, while Visa called her decision “incredibly brave.” 

According to one marketing expert, by making a stand for mental health and challenging the controversial culture of gymnastics, Biles has proved she “has much to offer brands even without competing and eventually in retirement.” Find out more about Biles’ decision and the response so far here: https://adage.com/article/special-report-olympics/what-simone-biles-olympics-exit-means-sponsors/2353256

Nike’s Newsworthy Week

It was a week of highs and lows for Nike. The good news: the brand signed Cade Cunningham to their newest endorsement deal the day before the young star was selected as the first pick in the NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Cunningham played college basketball at Oklahoma State University, which is sponsored by Nike, and he has long been a fan of the brand. Now for the bad news: one of Nike’s other spokespeople, Kyrie Irving, shared his thoughts on the poor quality of the new Kyrie 8 shoes, which Irving says he has “nothing to do with.”

Nike is currently the brand of choice for more than two-thirds of all NBA athletes. In addition to Irving’s line of signature sneakers, Nike also offers shoes named for superstars like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Perhaps Cunningham will be next in line in the coming years. Find out more about his new deal here: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31897084/projected-overall-nba-draft-pick-cade-cunningham-signs-multi-year-endorsement-deal-nike

TikTok Spoofs Classic Ads

Some advertisements are so clever and memorable, they become part of the pop culture lexicon. In a new campaign, TikTok is remaking select fan-favorite commercials for the younger generation with the help of popular creators. User @rosssmith and his grandmother recreated the popular Snickers commercial “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry,” while @munyachawawa took on the classic Old Spice ad “The Man Your Man Can Smell Like.” The campaign also encourages other users to recreate their own favorite ads using the hashtag #TikTokReMake.

In addition to celebrating popular advertisements, the new campaign also serves as an example for other brands on how to market to young consumers using TikTok. Check out the first recreations and get inspired here: https://adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/tiktok-remakes-classic-skittles-snickers-and-old-spice-ads/2353936

Coca-Cola Invests in NFTs

Many companies have been experimenting with NFTs over the past few months, but now the technology has caught the attention of one of the biggest brands in the world. Last week, Coca-Cola auctioned off its first NFT collection to support Special Olympics International. The collection includes four art pieces packaged inside a box designed to look like a retro Coke vending machine, along with a branded bubble jacket that can be worn in the virtual reality platform Decentraland. Decentraland is run by a nonprofit organization and is a virtual world made entirely of NFTs.

As NFTs continue to become more popular with high-profile brands, tech companies are starting to see the larger “metaverse” they exist in take shape. Recently, Mark Zuckerburg noted that he hopes to take Facebook into the metaverse, or the convergence of digital and physical worlds. To learn more about NFTs and the metaverse, read on here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/coca-cola-auctions-its-first-nfts-as-interest-in-metaverse-grows/604069/