Insurance brand Aflac announced marketing campaign for women’s March Madness

The GIST: A duck and a coaching GOAT are about to walk into a bar an ad. Insurance brand Aflac announced a wide-ranging marketing campaign for women’s March Madness on Wednesday, featuring a special appearance from reigning champs South Carolina’s head coach, Dawn Staley.

The details: Most of Aflac’s media spend during next year’s March Madness will be directed towards the women’s tournament — the brand will run more than 30 spots during the tourney, compared to 10 during the men’s event. The ads will continue to spotlight Aflac’s initiative to reduce medical debt.

• Staley will star alongside a yet-to-be-named “coaching legend” in an ad that will debut before the national tournament begins and will also work with Aflac to optimize the brand’s distribution of funds benefitting players and fans.

The context: Working with coaches is already in Aflac’s marketing playbook. The company counts Alabama football HC Nick Saban as a partner, and he’s our best guess for Staley’s co-star as he doesn’t have much on the schedule these days.

Zooming out: Companies like Alfac and financial services giant Citi have entered the women’s sports space after launching gender equity initiatives of their own — aligning with women’s sports just makes branding sense. It’s especially the case for March Madness, nearly two years removed from Sedona Prince’s TikTok exposing the NCAA’s sexism.

• Staley is as ideal a partner as they come. She’s a fierce advocate for equality and was central in the public campaign to bring Griner home, while also being one of the sport’s style icons. Easy play.