)
Marking 14 years as the official sponsor of the NCAA March Madness tournament, Capital One is reminding fans what March is for with the launch of their newest fully integrated campaign, created by Capital One’s agency of record, GSD&M.
Featured in the campaign are fan favourites Samuel L. Jackson, Charles Barkley and Spike Lee who are joined by familiar faces including Jennifer Garner, Magic Johnson, Jim Nantz and Jeremy Brandt. This year, the star-studded pack is also joined by six-time Grammy-award-winning singer Dionne Warwick.
Over the years, Capital One has demonstrated its ability to connect with consumers through advertising by tapping into cultural moments that aren’t often expected in the banking and finance world. The NCAA is one such moment.
Capital One – That's What March Is For
Capital One – Chuck Blimp
Capital One – Magic Mart
NCAA: The NCAA Men’s and Women’s tournaments span more than three weeks, and it’s Capital One’s goal to be the most-dominant brand during this time. To break through and be remembered, we create highly entertaining commercials featuring a cast of memorable celebrities, musicians and athletes enjoying the madness of March, just like the tens of millions of fans.
That’s What March Is For, We created the anthem for the tournament this year. Sung to the tune of That’s What Friends Are For and featuring the one-and-only Dionne Warwick, we brought together a star-studded cast to celebrate (and sing about) the best month of the year.
The Chuck Blimp, What’s the best way to get between the Men’s and Women’s Final Four? A blimp in the shape of Charles Barkley, obviously. We are really making it, and it will really be seen flying across the country on its way to the tournament.
Magic Mart, In 2023, we saw Charles Barkley open The Chuck Stop: your one-stop shop for all things NCAA. In 2024, Chuck has some competition when Magic Johnson decides to one-up him with The Magic Mart: your even better one-stop shop for all things NCAA. Time to lawyer up.
+ membership
Access the world's largest advertising database. With an intuitive toolset that helps you explore, present and collaborate more effectively.
Learn More
Capital One – Key To The City
Capital One – What About Nantz
The cross-channel campaign will span TV, social, digital, OOH in-arena signage and on-site activations. Capital One, Warner Bros. Discovery Live Events and 160/90 partnered on the on-site activations. The social components of the campaign span across social-first extensions of the TV ideas to real-time content and engagement. To extend the friendly rivalry between one-stop March Madness shops Magic Mart and Chuck Stop, the brand is hosting a TikTok-first merch sweepstakes. Fans will have the chance to visit a custom micro-site via social where they can instantly win swag to rep their favorite shop. Additionally, throughout the tournament, fans can enter to win branded hats, T-shirts or tunnel-fit-worthy jackets.
CAPITAL ONE: “As a brand, we look for moments in culture, like the NCAA Tournament, where we can connect and create something memorable and entertaining,” Marc Mentry, Chief Brand Officer for Capital One said. “Our cast of fan favorites helps us make those connections with audiences through truly fun work that we are always very excited to share.”
GSD&M: “Only Capital One can bring this cast together for this moment,” GSD&M Group Creative Director Ryan Carroll said. “So every year our goal is to raise the bar and ensure that we are adding to the fan viewing experience. We see this work as an extension of the entertainment and excitement of the games, and that’s why fans look forward to it.”
