What Sophia Bush looks for in a brand partner

To ink a deal with actor and activist Sophia Bush, brands must tick all the right boxes.

“It’s an exhaustive list,” she told us. “I drive my team crazy. I say no to a lot of things that they do not want me to say no to.”

The One Tree Hill and Good Sam actor has long been vocal about causes she supports, ranging from abortion rights to civic engagement. Her activism informs how she approaches brand deals: According to Bush, brand partners—which have ranged from Mejuri to 3M—are subject to “intense diligence.”

“When people can pass that diligence, it’s super exciting,” she said. “I want to champion those people. I want to encourage them, and if I’m not working with them, I want my friends to work with them.”

In 2020, Bush became an investor in the newly founded Angel City FC women’s soccer team. Around that time, Bush said she spoke with a Diageo exec who wanted to get Johnnie Walker whiskey involved with the new team.

Bush’s work with Johnnie Walker, she said, has been part of an ongoing effort to “disrupt the way that corporate money can affect culture.” We spoke with her about that mission and the results that have stemmed from her work with Johnnie Walker.

Slow and steady wins the race match

Being selective about deals means Bush spent “a long time” waiting for the right opportunity to arise—that is, she said, until Johnnie Walker came along.

“I’ve always looked at effecting change as a long game,” she said. “It’s not a quick turnaround thing for me. And I’m really proud to have held out for the right folks.”

Bush began working with Johnnie Walker in 2018 to raise money for She Should Run, an organization dedicated to encouraging women to run for office. Since then, Bush said her work with Johnnie Walker has “really transformed over the years into this incredibly beautiful partnership that touches so many verticals.”

Last year, Johnnie Walker brought in Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes and Tia P. to create Angel City FC’s official anthem—the first for a US women’s professional sports team, according to the company. Bush noted that the brand has also helped the team fund community programs. According to the Angel City website, 10% of every sponsorship dollar goes toward funding programs dedicated to things like supporting female entrepreneurs, of which Jane Walker by Johnnie Walker is listed as a supporter.

“We can see the fruits of that labor year after year with the people that we’re supporting,  where the grant money has gone, where the corporate sponsorship dollars have gone,” Bush said. “It’s really amazing to look back and go, ‘Oh, my God, we’ve had such a great time doing this…Look what we’ve done.’”

While she said it can be tempting to gatekeep a good brand partner, Bush is not worried about being “left behind” as Johnnie Walker expands its portfolio. One of the brand’s newest partners is fellow US women’s soccer team Gotham City FC. Ahead of the Women’s World Cup, Johnnie Walker started running a campaign with Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham to encourage people to watch women’s sports.

“A platform is a privilege”

While Bush said people have encouraged her to be “less political” in order to secure more deals, she sees her platform and the impact she’s able to yield from it as a calling. She also emphasized that brands can end up getting “so much more of an ROI” by creating relationships with celebrities or influencers as opposed to one-off endorsement deals, as they’re likely to be more invested in the work.

“To me, life is about so much more than what you do or how much you get paid annually,” she said. “It’s about showing up for people. It’s about feeling like you can look yourself in the mirror at the end of the night. And if we’re not prioritizing community wellness, I don’t know what we’re doing.”

Whether it’s from a brand or a celebrity, having “a platform is a privilege,” Bush said. She said she found it “unacceptable” that brands like Starbucks and Target pulled back on their Pride displays last month, adding that “the idea that we let harassers win, that we let violent people win...is utterly unacceptable and contemptible.”

“The idea that you want people to invest in your company…and you won’t use your unbelievably enormous influence to support those people who have helped build your company?” she said. “One is a relationship and one is a powerful person using people who don’t have the same power.”