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Forty years ago, it was a big deal when Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton became the first female athlete to be featured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box, a consumer-culture laurel reserved for the highest achievers in sports.
The Wheaties placement of today is to be part of a recurring national advertising campaign that is known for featuring the best and brightest in sports. This year, the State Farm year-end ad campaign includes Jonquel Jones, the 6-foot-6 forward for the WNBA‘s New York Liberty who in October led the team to the first championship in its 27-year history. She was named Finals MVP.
Jones appears in the cheeky spot that revolves around auto insurance, a damaged sports car, New York Liberty legend and ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo and the team’s free-spirited mascot, Ellie the Elephant. And of course, Jake from State Farm, the amiable insurance rep in a red polo shirt and tan khakis played by actor Kevin Miles, makes an appearance in the spot dubbed “Big El.”
“It’s something that as a franchise, whether it’s a male or female sports franchise, you want for your brand,” says Shana Stephenson, chief brand officer for the Liberty. “You want to be on a national platform. You want to be able to be in as many homes as possible, because that’s how you ultimately grow your brand.”
The spot marks Jones’ second outing in a State Farm ad, after 2022’s “Reach Anything” spot, which came on the heels of Jones being named the WNBA’s MVP in 2021, when she played for the Connecticut Sun. This time around, the ad blitz comes after Jones has logged two high-octane seasons with the Liberty. In 2023, the team made it to the finals. In 2024, the Liberty brought the league’s Tiffany-designed championship trophy and banner back to their home stadium, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Jones enjoys the added recognition that comes with being on TV in a different context. The brighter spotlight on WNBA players is good for the game and for women’s sports.
“It’s going to allow us to continue to be in those spaces where our faces can be seen, where we can continue to grow the team and grow our own personal brand,” says Jones, who hails from Freeport, Bahamas. She turns 31 on Jan. 5.
“I’m happy that we can branch out and not just be athletes. We can be more than that,” Jones says.
Madison Avenue agrees. Female athletes across the spectrum are in high demand for sponsorship deals.
“This latest collaboration with Disney Advertising combines their creativity and top talent with our shared commitment to women’s sports,” said Kristyn Cook, chief agency, sales & marketing officer for State Farm. “This spot is another example of how impactful and relevant women athletes are across sports and culture.”
As 2024 comes to a close, viewership, ticket sales and sponsor dollars are up virtually across the board for WNBA teams. The miracle season for women’s college basketball during the 2024 NCAA basketball tournament — the event that made Caitlin Clark a household name for sports fans — led to record-setting viewership last spring. That momentum carried over as star players from college brought their rivalries into the WNBA.
“We see more sponsorship opportunities and more growth in terms of partners who want to invest in our team and invest in our players,” Stephenson says. “Just the opportunities and the links that we’ve seen since the [Finals] win has been incredible.”
The chance to feature the colorful, dance-happy Ellie the Elephant mascot in the ad is also a huge plus for the team. Ellie’s energetic moves and sassy attitude reflects her the spirt of her hometown. She was born around the time the team moved from playing at Madison Square Garden to Barclays Center in 2021. That was two years after the team was acquired by investor Clara Wu Tsai from New York Knicks owner James Dolan. The burst of activity around the Liberty has been exciting, says Jones, who moved to the Empire State in 2023 after six seasons with the Connecticut Sun.
“Everywhere we go, I’m good for at least one person in an establishment knowing who I am, being able to come up to me and say, ‘Congratulations on a great season.’ The notoriety is there now. The visibility is there. And I think that’s a testament to the viewership of the league going up,” Jones says.
For Jones, one tangible result of the money now flowing into women’s sports is the fact that this is the first off season in years where she hasn’t left the U.S. to play in an overseas women’s basketball league. This year, she put enough money in the bank to take the winter off. Jones and her older and younger colleagues across the WNBA feel driven to ensure that 2024 isn’t a one-off but the start of a steadily rising tide.
“This is prime time for people to invest in women’s sports, and turn it from a trend into a lifestyle,” Jones says. “So I’m just very happy to be a part of it, to continue to do my part to help raise the game up and elevate it. And I know that in the future, this will be a big turning point for women’s basketball and women’s sports.”
(Pictured top: Jonquel Jones, Rebecca Lobo and Kevin Miles)
English (US) ·