Almond Board of California’s new fully integrated, nine-month marketing campaign kicked off Aug. 23 with the help of football legend turned University of Colorado, Boulder, coach Deion Sanders. This is the largest celebrity endorsement in the Almond Board’s history, with previous partnerships including Olympic volleyball champion Kerri Walsh Jennings and Women’s World Cup star Julie Ertz.
Commercials aired Sept. 2, 2023, during the games between University of Colorado and Texas Christian University, and Ohio State University and Indiana University. Another ran during the Sept. 3 game between Louisiana State University and Florida State University.
“So, right at the beginning of the college football season, we’ll be present with Deion Sanders in television ads promoting exercise recovery and encouraging consumers to eat more almonds,” said Almond Board CEO Richard Waycott during a recent announcement of the collaboration.
The partnership, appropriately titled “Own Your Prime” in reference to Coach Prime himself, is centered on recent research regarding almonds and the role they play in muscle recovery after exercise. The campaign will expand from the Almond Board’s focus on U.S. women as a primary demographic into a larger, health-aware audience of both men and women.
In addition to social media, national television, and cable or streaming services, the campaign will peak at Radio Row, the infamous media headquarters that ramps up into an enthusiastic frenzy leading to the Super Bowl.
“We’re really excited about this, and I think [Sanders] is somebody that will match really well with our desires to make sure more Americans are eating healthy almonds […],” Waycott said.
Sanders has had an extensive career in both the NFL and MLB, making him the only athlete to play in both the Super Bowl and World Series.
Main photo: “Coach Prime” Deion Sanders promoting the exercise recovery benefits of almonds. Photos: Almond Board of California
