AT&T, one of just five sponsors of The Masters, activated its tournament rights by building on its ‘Connecting Changes Everything’ marketing platform with new work fronted by actor Ben Stiller alongside golf ambassadors Jordan Spieth and Rose Zhang which showcases how the company’s technology helps free up time to be human.
The leverage programme is spearheaded by a trio of spots debuting online and airing across official tournament broadcaster telecasts through the tournament (with extensions and supporting content) which all drive home how AT&T’s offering can help everyone – from the golfing elite, to casual players and non-golfers – free up their time and thrive in their day-to-day lives.
Created by AT&T’s agency of record BBDO, the campaign rolled out from 4 April – a week ahead of the 2024 tournament which runs from 11 to 14 April – and featured new and existing AT&T tech advancements.
The opening spot, titled ‘Juggling Rose’, dropped online on 4 April and features a masterful, multi-tasking Zhang playfully juggling a golf ball with her iron while simultaneously video calling her family, viewing class lectures, watching funny videos and more. The spot serves as a metaphor for how AT&T helps people juggle all the important things in their lives.
Apparently the ad idea was inspired by Zhang – an AT&T-sponsored student-athlete – and it sees the brand show how it can help balance a professional career with studying and a personal life by staying to connecting to everyone and everything’.
This was followed on 8 April by a second spot featuring AT&T golf ambassador and former Masters winner Jordan Spieth which introduced a bespoke bag the brand has created for the player for the tournament (inspired by classic Masters and Augusta National traits and features) and which urges him to ‘go get that second Green Jacket’.
We took care of the bag. Now @jordanspieth go get that second Green Jacket. #MastersWeek #ATTAthlete pic.twitter.com/AuAcIVM80y
— AT&T (@ATT) April 8, 2024
Then, on 10 April, the campaign’s flagship spot ‘Epic Bad Golf Day’ debuted to introduce a new AT&T satellite calling feature which enables lost, of-course golfer Stiller to find his way back to the course (with additional guidance from Spieth).
The commercial comes in 60- and 30-second versions.
Two additional, non-golf linked spots also run during the tournament and both also depict the impact of AT&T’s technology on daily life.
An ad called ‘Nostalgia’ opens in the 1980s with pixelated, grainy VHS style footage showing a kid with a Walkman getting ready for school with a Walkman, before clearing to reflect the educational importance of today’s improved technology.
The ad reasserts AT&T’s commitment to bridge the digital divide and grant wider access to internet services and digital literacy resources. Indeed, earlier in April AT&T announced it was committing an additional $3bn to education technology causes (adding to the previous $2bn investment since 2021).
While an ad called ‘Family Business’ shows how a seemingly mafia/mob-like family runs its business using AT&T Wi-Fi.
“We wanted to balance our storytelling during the Masters with a few golf-centric pieces and a few pieces of lifestyle storytelling. In 2023, in partnership with ASC Space Mobile, AT&T actually made the first ever satellite to cell call. In the Stiller/Spieth spot we wanted to demonstrate that in the future, you can have that safety and security in being able to make a call whenever and wherever you are. While the Zhang ad is inspired by the fact that she is a full-time student at Stanford studying communications: trying to keep up with her personal life and keeping connected with her friends and her family. Ultimately, her connectivity also allows her to achieve greatness on the course. Creatively, the audience that is watching the Masters, many of them had their youth during the ’80s, so ‘Nostalgia’ appeals to them.”
AT&T Senior VP of Advertising aid Valerie Vargas
Many experienced (older) sports marketers with long memories will feel that the Zhang spot shares a resemblance with the famous Nike Tiger Woods’ ‘Hacky Sack’ ad.
AT&T is one of only six sponsors of The Masters alongside fellow official partners Delta, IBM, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and UPS.
This 2024 activation programme follows in the footsteps of some of its previous Masters’ campaigns such as 2018’s ‘It Can Wait’ and 2016’s B2B ‘Power Of’.