Michael Jordan dunking for Gatorade. Cristiano Ronaldo dribbling through a crowded airport for Nike. Shaq blocking shots from dozens of clones of himself for Reebok. Some of the greatest sports ads of all time feature elite athletes achieving physical feats unimaginable to the average person.

Now, some sports brands have begun focusing on another feat that might be hard to imagine for athletes and nonathletes alike: prioritizing mental health.

While the messaging differs from brand to brand, some sports marketers are betting the strategy of highlighting mental health instead of just athletic performance will continue to work in 2025.

“There are a lot of factors that are putting enormous amounts of pressure on not just professional athletes, but everyday athletes,” said Matrona Filippou, president of the global hydration, sports, coffee, and tea category at Coca-Cola, whose brand Powerade has embraced mental fitness messaging in recent years. “I think that irrespective of who you are, I think you are going to want to be able to step back and take a pause.”

Continue reading here.—AM

Balmy Januaries, universal healthcare, koala sanctuaries. As if Australia doesn’t already have it all, it now has a Honey Deuce-style signature cocktail for the Australian Open, too.

Grey Goose, the vodka brand behind the US Open’s iconic bevvy, inked a deal in December to become the official vodka partner of the Australian Open, which commenced over the weekend. As part of the sponsorship, Grey Goose is serving up a new cocktail unique to the Open, the Lemon Ace, that Aleco Azqueta, VP of global marketing, said he hopes will become as ubiquitous at Melbourne’s Grand Slam as the Honey Deuce is at New York’s.

“One of the things that’s so special about the Honey Deuce is that you really can only have it during those three weeks of the US Open,” he told Marketing Brew. “There’s so much anticipation, so that’s what we’re hoping to create at the Australian Open as well—that when it comes to the Australian Open, January will be Lemon Ace season.”

Cheers, mate: When it came time to decide which Grand Slam the brand would venture into next, Azqueta said Australia stood out for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s a major market for Grey Goose, and it shares a fairly similar vibe as the US Open as a cultural event with an audience that’s there for a good time as much as they are to watch tennis. Beyond that, it takes place during Australia’s summer—and who wouldn’t want a good excuse to travel to the southern hemisphere in January?

Plus, the Australian Open has a nickname that’s as pertinent to Grey Goose as it is adorable.

“Our brand is all about joie de vivre, and the Australian Open is known as the ‘Happy Slam,’ so it really was just a very natural fit for us,” Azqueta said. The unofficial name was coined by Roger Federer back in 2007.

Read more here.—AM

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Jeaneen Andrews-Feldman is chief marketing officer of ad-tech platform Simpli.fi. Prior to joining Simpli.fi, she was chief marketing and experience officer for the Society for HR Management, and she helped develop performance marketing strategies at agencies and brands including Merkle, AT&T, and Sprint.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? I really enjoyed Salesforce’s “Team Earth” campaign. First of all, who doesn’t love Matthew McConaughey? But also, the ads were extremely engaging, energizing, and narrative-driven. Plus, I appreciated that the ads were focused on driving environmental responsibility. The ads were a great example of the power of CTV as well. Known for getting the right message to the right people, CTV allowed Salesforce to use tailored messaging in the ads it distributed across premium streaming platforms to target and drive engagement with decision-makers at potential business partners.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: Earlier in my career, when I worked in AT&T’s technology division, my job was to sell backup power to large utility companies. You wouldn’t have guessed it now, but I would often be seen with a hard hat on and work boots in a generating plant. That was many years ago, and my career has taken many twists and turns, but none compared to that hands-on sales experience, which has influenced how I think about the partnership that marketing and sales must have.

Read more here.

In a challenging economy, marketing often faces the first round of budget cuts. But trimming spend doesn’t have to mean sacrificing brand strength.

EMARKETER asked top CMOs to share how to avoid cutting key marketing-funnel tactics, use low-cost strategies to grow sales, and leverage long-term data over short-term metrics. Plus, learn how to collaborate with CFOs to make smarter budget decisions. Discover tactics for effective marketing in tough times.

Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• T-Mobile acquired the digital OOH ad-tech company Vistar Media for $600 million.
• McDonald’s tapped John Cena for a new campaign promoting its McValue offer.
• Stagwell announced that it’s bringing its Sport Beach programming back to Cannes as the official LionsSport Partner for 2025.
• ServiceNow, an AI platform, featured Idris Elba in its latest ad.