Broken Marketing by Anvara - Week 12

Welcome to Broken Marketing

Welcome to the 12th weekly edition of Broken Marketing by Anvara, where we discuss marketing that breaks.

For those of you that are new here, we’re Nick and Andrei, the co-founders of Anvara. We’ve included you here because one way or another we’re connected. We’re happy to have you a part of the Anvara family. 

Ashton Hall Just Made Saratoga Water Sexy

Saratoga water is on fire. Why? Some guy named Ashton Hall is posting videos of his morning routine which includes dunking his face repeatedly in iced Saratoga water, journaling, and finding other ways to waste time from 4-8am. He is also rubbing a banana peel on his face. Please watch:

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Nobody seems to know why he does it, but the internet is obsessed. The videos have gained tens of millions of views and been reposted by people like Mr Beast. It’s free marketing for Saratoga that has increased their Google search volume by over 1300%. But even with all the press, Saratoga’s response has been minimal.

It’s unclear whether the collab is official or not, and it seems unlikely that Saratoga made this happen based on its limited posts. Intentional collab or not, Hall’s videos are so influential that Saratoga’s parent company, Primo Water, stock bumped up momentarily. Maybe Hall’s morning rituals or the trending X tagline “Saratoga banana facial” disturbed the marketing team, but Saratoga missed a golden opportunity.

Most brands would dream of Saratoga’s viral moment. Hall’s videos gave the water brand a personality and more attention than they could ask for. A meme, yes, but Saratoga could’ve turned themselves into an unforgettable brand used by a much more forgettable influencer. 

While Saratoga missed their 15 minutes of fame, others capitalized. Mouth tape for sleep is another one of Hall’s signature moves, and dozens of brands popped up overnight. It’s proof that even if you aren’t the center of attention, there are always ways to put yourself where people are looking.

Saratoga, if you were behind this, good work. If not, hire a few interns and give them your social logins.

March Madness 2025: The Brands Cashing In on NIL

America’s (second) favorite college sport is in full swing, and it’s become a battleground for brand attention. 

Since 2021, NIL deals have allowed brands to sponsor college players, and the NIL market is projected to hit $1.67 billion this year. The excitement of March Madness makes it the perfect time for these deals to happen, and brands are capitalizing on it in ways we’ve never seen before. 

Here are our favorite NIL plays this season, and what marketers can learn from them:

AT&T + Cooper Flagg: The Maine Event

College basketball’s hottest prospect, Cooper Flagg, landed his own AT&T ad in their campaign featuring NBA stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The ad featured Cooper simply winning a bingo game in a senior center. Yet its simplicity and humour won over fans online with thousands of reposts.  

Flagg also landed deals with Uber Eats and New Era, a signal that big brands are looking to invest early in top athletes. Additionally, AT&T’s unorthodox ad style shows that the youthful side of NIL deals let brands experiment in ways traditional sponsorships often don’t.

Aura Wins: Brands Bet on the Ultimate Underdog

Here’s the most unexpected NIL deal of the season—and we love it. McNeese State’s Amir “Aura” Khan became the first student manager to sign an NIL deal. And he didn’t stop at one. Khan signed 12 NIL deals worth over $100,000 with brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and TickPick after going viral for being the team’s hype man during walkouts. And after McNeese upset #5 Clemson, his face was everywhere, even on cheerleaders’ socks. Talk about aura. 

As a student manager, Khan was making more than most players in deals, and it came down to personality. While big players are great for brands, Khan’s aura was a much stronger currency. The brands who picked up on it first won big.

Ore-Ida’s Legacy Play

Frozen potato brand Ore-Ida did something clever. They signed an NIL deal with BYU’s Richie Saunders, the great-grandson of an Ore-Ida co-founder (and rumored tater tot inventor). His Ore-Ida ad resembles Michael Jordan’s rookie Nike campaign—except Richie is holding a bag of tater tots. The best part is fans can claim a bag of tots after each BYU win. 

We saw how well reward based marketing worked with Lay’s in Week 9 and by using brand legacy to tell a story, Ore-Ida was one of March Madness’ brand winners.

NYX Made History

USC’s JuJu Watkins is one of the hottest names in college sports with over $750,000 in NIL deals, and her latest just made history. Partnering with cosmetics brand NYX, Watkins became the first student athlete to lead a national beauty campaign. 

With the message “feel good, play good,” the partnership was well selected as Watkins’ 1.5 million social media followers largely fit NYX’s audience. Sponsorships like these are just as serious as some pro deals showing college sports are a growing outlet for brands.

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NIL deals are more than a trend–they’re a whole new marketing channel, and it works better than you might expect because you can target audiences more specifically. Last year’s women's final was the most watched basketball game in the past five years (including the NBA), and this year’s tournament has averaged nearly 9 million viewers a game. 

But what the numbers can’t tell you is the most important part: NIL deals are partnerships with players that can tell a story better than any team sponsorship and target some of the most loyal fanbases in the world. Add that to the excitement of March Madness, and it’s a recipe for success for brands. For a fraction of a pro-deal price, brands can be front and center of the underdog stories and cash in early on future pros.

This week’s news

Here’s a brief update on marketing news from this week:

• DoorDash Just Put Debt in Your Dinner. DoorDash is now letting you finance your food. Yes—monthly payments…for your nightly Taco Bell. As if the credit crisis wasn’t bad enough. In partnership with Klarna, DoorDash now offers a buy now, pay later option. On paper, it’s a convenience. In reality, it’s the final boss of consumer debt culture. The move was carefully timed to draw attention to Klarna as they near a potentially $15 billion dollar IPO. So forget logos and sponsorships—this is a marketing play fueled by credit defaults and consumer desperation.

• Gen Z Wants Real Things, Not Subscriptions. Cheez-It, Glossier, and others are tapping into Gen Z’s love for collecting with items like stickers, totes, and limited edition merch. It seems a bit foolish at first, but Glossier has had fans reselling their stickers for years while Cheez-It just sold out of 2,500+ merch items, including 400+ sticker packs. The products are low-cost but high-impact in the social media buzz they’ve created. People are naturally drawn to exclusivity, and the playfulness of the merch was a perfect way to engage their younger audiences. Yes, it’s easier to post something online. Giving away something real takes a little more effort, but don’t be lazy, it’s worth it. And it can’t be skipped, scrolled, or deleted.

• McDonald’s is Bragging. McDonald’s didn’t need to tell us much about their latest “Breakfast, done properly” campaign for us to get the message. Led by Le Burnett, McDonald’s put zoomed in images of McDonald’s breakfast items without a logo on billboards across the U.K. Photos like a hashbrown in nothing but a red paper sleeve and what could only be an egg McMuffin showcased McDonald’s brand recognition. In week 2, we referenced a similar stunt where McDonald’s put a scented billboard in the Netherlands. The minimalist approach is a reminder that McDonald’s is more than a brand, it’s a universal language.

• Axe Canada Turns Scent Into Swipe. Deodorant brand Axe is flipping the dating script with its “Scent-Driven Dating Profiles” campaign in Canada. For National Fragrance Day, billboards across Toronto featured real Gen Z men, each paired with a scent from the Axe Fine Fragrance Collection. Passersby could sniff the ad, scan a QR code, and match based on scent. Led by Edelman’s, the campaign showcased how multiple sensory activations can be used to make OOH campaigns stand out. And maybe it’ll remind some of the guys that it’s more than love at first sight—sometimes, it starts with a scent.

That’s all for this week. Happy Wednesday and remember, fortune favors the brave.

What’s Anvara?

Anvara is a first-of-its-kind platform that connects brands with premium real-world advertising opportunities like live event sponsorship, sports marketing, and guerilla marketing. With a focus on innovation, AI, and advanced measurement, Anvara makes it easier for brands to create memorable real-world experiences and measure their ROI. For more information, visit https://www.anvara.com/.

Quote of the week

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” - Paulo Coelho