NERDS Candy Rolls Out New Campaign With Many Star Athletes

As Super Bowl LIX approaches, all kinds of brands are teaming up with all sorts of celebrity ambassadors to showcase their products on the biggest advertising stage in the world. However, in the era of NIL, it’s still relatively uncommon to see college athletes featured in high-profile Super Bowl marketing campaigns. But that’s definitely changing as NIL becomes a bigger and more prominent area of advertising. This year, sports marketing agency ESM is breaking the mold by assembling a diverse group of both student-athletes and professional stars to help promote a long-standing, beloved and familiar candy brand.

NERDS Candy has been hinting at an exciting Super Bowl campaign featuring the brand’s Gummy character alongside musician and songwriter Shaboozey. The company has also enlisted ESM as its agency of record, responsible for the creative direction, talent sourcing, and content production involving top athletes from both college and professional sports.

The campaign includes a star-studded lineup of college athletes, such as the Miami women’s basketball duo, the Cavinder Twins, Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown, Alabama running back Jam Miller, Michigan running back Justice Haynes and Northwestern wide receiver AJ Henning, among others.

In the lead-up to the Super Bowl and beyond, additional videos from each featured athlete will be rolled out, showcasing their distinct personalities while promoting NERDS Gummy Clusters in authentic, relatable ways. The complete list of athletes participating in the campaign includes:

• AJ Henning, Northwestern football
• Anna Frey, Farmington High School (Farmington, UT) tennis
• Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Dru Phillips, New York Giants
• Haley Cavinder, Miami basketball
• Hanna Cavinder, Miami basketball
• Jam Miller, Alabama football
• Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins
• Joshisa Trader, Miami football
• Justice Haynes, Michigan football
• Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
• Mia Moore, Clemson basketball
• Mike Sainristil, Washington Commanders
• Rueben Bain Jr., Miami football
• Sammy Brown, Clemson football
• Tylan Wallace, Baltimore Ravens