Red Bull’s Heart-Stopping Marketing Tactics

…They may be carrying some of the craziest news in basketball history. Shams Charania was shaking in his boots and his phone was overheating while he was getting word on the Luka-AD trade. Hopefully telling his story is therapeutic in some ways. 

Longtime hooper Jay Ellis is playing a coach on Mindy Kaling’s Running Point, but his biggest challenge wasn’t channeling his inner JJ Redick, it was refraining from shooting hoops while filming—and splitting his pants.

Greek club Athens Kallithea—which has made a habit of dropping some of the most fashionable kits around—is reusing the same jersey designs from last season, in an effort to save the planet. You love to see it. Plus, this cause is a lot easier to get behind than paper straws. 

Multiple personalities?! Nay, strategic business move. Some people ridicule Morgan Riddle for solely defining herself as “Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend” online, but it’s actually intentional. She keeps two separate identities to protect her peace—something we should probably all do. Haters stay mad. 

DK Metcalf had his first presser as a Steeler and he brought a special guest: his fiancée (who also happens to be a popstar) Normani. “Hold that rock up, baby,” would also be the perfect TikTok sound over a DK TD fancam. You’re welcome, content creators. The next one will cost ya.

You know the movie trailer’s gonna slap when the Fleetwood Mac track starts playing under a drone shot of a fast car. 

Historically, Red Bull has focused on appealing to adrenaline junkies. Their motto (“it gives you wings”) always lent itself to extreme sports. Now several years into being the household name for energy supplementation via radioactive looking liquids, they’re focused on appealing to regular fans too. But they haven’t lost their edge. 

The latest video with Trinity Rodman will have you glued to your device the whole time as you hope and pray she’s able to control the ball from a 65 foot drop (and then a 120 foot drop). For reasons only explained by neuroligists, as a viewer, the second-hand fear of heights is real. But it’s fun! 

Red Bull is as much a sports brand and content house as it is an energy drink maker. The company sponsors all kinds of sports, events, and athletes—from Arch Manning to Lindsey Vonn. They’re focused just as much on building a drone that can beat Max Verstappen in a race as they are being in your fridge. Can the neurologists reading this explain why this drone shot scratches some kind of adrenaline itch in my brain, by the way?

When basketballer (a sport that famously does not require a love of heights or speed) AJ Dybantsa committed to BYU, he used a Parachuting Red Bull Billboard to help deliver the message. Prada and Red Bull partnered up to help a BMXer flip on a moving train. Why? We don’t know. Does it matter? We also don’t know. But as sports fans, it’s scary and fun and exhilarating to watch. Plus, it pays off. Their YouTube boasts 22.1M subscribers, while even the likes of Nike only has 2.1M subscribers. 

It’s fascinating how Red Bull has convinced sports fans—from the most humble hoops or soccer fans to motorsports fanatics—they need Red Bull (and a plane of some kind) to properly enjoy the game. 

We all remember when Hailey Van Lith was faced with the impossible task of guarding Caitlin Clark in the NCAA tournament. One exasperated shoulder shrug and she became a symbol used to memeify your boss giving you impossible deadlines or your parents asking why you’re still single. 

@espn

Caitlin is cooking HVL 😳 #caitlinclark #wcbb #iowa #lsu #basketball #espnmarchmadness

The late great Kobe Bryant, who mentored HVL, knew she had what it takes to come back from a moment like this. She said herself that “if you’re a dog you’ll survive” March Madness. Which is maybe true for her when it comes to puzzles too, considering she’s been doing one high-difficulty thousand-piecers non-stop lately. 

Whether or not redemption has been explicitly on her mind, she’s surpassed the lofty expectations that were already set for her. Even before this season, she had one of the highest NIL valuations in women’s college hoops. 

After transferring from LSU (after transferring from Louisville) and graduating from TCU with a degree in finance (ok brainaic!), she led the Horned Frogs to a Big 12 Championship, and she’s playing the best ball of her career. And she’s working to inspire younger players, too. 

So, whether or not TCU finds themselves deep in the tournament, HVL is back, baby.

The Bills’ WR can’t quite wrap his mind around the cost of high fashion. Keon, let’s hit Macy’s together.

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