It’s about friggin’ time brands realized that when they sponsor the NBA and WNBA they should make crossover ads, and a new commercial from CarMax is just excellent.
CarMax’s Stephen Curry and Sue Bird ad is as funny as it is important
This is excellent.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Curry is seen car shopping when a star-struck salesman tells him he can’t believe he helped a four-time champion today. When Curry corrects him, saying he’s only won three, the salesman responds flippantly that he wasn’t talking about him, but WNBA legend Sue Bird, who he sold a car to earlier. Quipping that she’s also an 11-time All Star, all Curry can do is dejectedly mention that he’s “working on” trying to be as great as Bird.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or are, well just sexist, the popularity of the WNBA has exploded in recent years. The 2020 Finals had ratings up 34 percent year-over-year, compared to the NBA, which fell over 60 percent. The WNBA received a new TV deal in 2019, ensuring games are broadcast better, and the proliferation of the league is obvious to anyone who follows sports on social media. So, it’s only natural to have brands aligned with the WNBA and NBA to make these kind of ads, which are not only funny, but help shine a light on some of basketball’s brightest stars, who deserve a bigger stage.
CarMax has been making a series of ads with Bird, and they’ll all pretty great.
Sports ads are a critical way athletes move from the court, or field and become household names. If the writing is good, as is the case with these ads, they aren’t just perfunctory appearances. I’d say bravo to CarMax for the ads, and I do appreciate them, but it’s more like a “thank you” for not being dumb when you have access to BOTH leagues of basketball’s biggest stars.
