Core Power taps Katie Ledecky for campaign that shows everyone, even Olympians, get fatigued

Core Power is diving into the deep end with its Paris 2024 marketing campaign: The protein-shake brand signed seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky to a multi-year deal that kicked off in mid-April.

Core Power has been the official protein drink of Team USA for almost a decade, but the campaign with Ledecky represents the brand’s “largest Olympics investment to date,” according to Erica Rosskamm, VP of brand marketing at Core Power parent company Fairlife.

“We’re just overjoyed,” Rosskamm told Marketing Brew. “She is such an awe-inspiring female athlete, such a decorated swimmer, but we love the authenticity…She was just a no-brainer to be the face of this campaign.”

Ledecky is one of the most elite athletes in the world, but Rosskamm said the campaign is designed to “inspire anyone who sweats, no matter your level.”

Just keep swimming: In addition to the multi-year deal with Ledecky, Rosskamm said the campaign includes an Olympics media buy with NBCUniversal, which is anticipating record-breaking ad revenue from this summer’s games. A 15-second commercial starring Ledecky is set to run on linear and Peacock through the Olympics and Paralympics, according to Rosskamm.

The campaign spans digital, audio, and social platforms including TikTok, Meta, and YouTube. Altogether, the content represents the next phase of the brand’s broader “Champion Your Recovery” creative campaign, which first went live last year, Rosskamm said.

Everyone’s a champ: The “Champion Your Recovery” campaign is meant to help all kinds of athletes understand the benefits of recovering post-workout, Rosskamm said. The sports-drink category has a tendency to be associated with certain “tropes that weren’t very inclusive to all who sweat” but Core Power is aiming to be seen as “inviting and approachable,” she said.

“The ‘Champion Your Recovery’ campaign was really born from that universal insight that we all can feel fatigued and worn out after a workout,” Rosskamm said.

The new ad opens with a shot of Ledecky in a “moment of fatigue” that anyone who’s trained, Olympian or otherwise, can likely relate to, Rosskamm said. And while Ledecky’s training is certainly way above the caliber of everyday gym-goers, she’s also “very approachable,” Rosskamm said.

It’s not the only protein-shake brand looking to change perceptions of the category: Muscle Milk recently started running an athlete-led campaign focused on positioning the product as accessible to consumers who aren’t just hard-core gym buffs.

Olympic effect: The Olympics draws billions of viewers from around the world on broadcast alone, and Rosskamm knows from experience that those viewers are often engaged with the ads they see. For the last two summer Olympics, Core Power has partnered with Simone Biles, who is working with Powerade this year, for campaigns that have performed well as a result of the inspiring nature of the games and the athletes combined with their massive reach, she said.

This time around, Rosskamm said her team is tracking brand awareness and perception, as well as household penetration, from before, during, and after the campaign to gauge its success.

“The Olympics is just such an inspiring event for all of us, and so it’s a great platform,” she said. “When Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky authentically use your products, they can help inspire athletes and fitness enthusiasts everywhere to also see the benefit of nutrition recovery.”