New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones is getting the ad treatment on State Farm
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 performing athletes.
Today’s Wheaties placement will be part of a recurring national advertising campaign known for featuring the best and brightest in athletes. This year, State Farm’s year-end advertising campaign includes Jonquel Jones, the 6-foot-4 forward for the WNBA’s New York Liberty who led the team to its first championship in its 27-year history in October. She was named Finals MVP.
Jones appears in the cheeky spot that revolves around car 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, State Farm’s Jake, the amiable insurance salesman in a red polo shirt and tan khaki pants, played by actor Kevin Miles, appears in the spot called “Big El.”
“It’s something that as a franchise, whether it’s a male or female sports franchise, you want for your brand,” said Shana Stephenson, Liberty’s chief brand officer. “You want to be on a national platform. You want to be present in as many homes as possible, because that is how you ultimately grow your brand.”
The spot marks Jones’ second appearance in a State Farm ad, following the 2022 “Reach Anything” spot, which followed Jones’s naming as WNBA MVP in 2021, when she played for the Connecticut Sun. This time around, the advertising blitz comes after Jones logged two high-octane seasons with the Liberty. In 2023 the team reached the finals. In 2024, the Liberty returned the Tiffany-designed championship trophy and league banner to their home stadium, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Jones enjoys the extra recognition you get when you’re on TV in a different context. The brighter spotlight on WNBA players is good for the game and for women’s sports.
“It will allow us to stay in those spaces where our faces can be seen, where we can continue to grow the team and grow our own personal brand,” said Jones, a native of Freeport, Bahamas. She will turn 31 on January 5.
“I’m happy that we can expand and not just be athletes. We can be more than that,” says Jones.
Madison Avenue agrees. Sponsorship deals for female athletes across the spectrum are in high demand.
“This latest partnership with Disney Advertising combines their creativity and top talent with our shared commitment to women’s sports,” said Kristyn Cook, chief agency, sales and marketing officer for State Farm. “This venue is yet another example of how impactful and relevant female athletes are in sports and culture.”
As 2024 comes to a close, viewership, ticket sales and sponsorships are all up almost across the board for WNBA teams. Women’s basketball’s miracle season at the 2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament — the event that made Caitlin Clark a household name among sports fans — led to record viewership last spring. That momentum carried over when star players from college took their rivalry to the WNBA.
“We see more sponsorship opportunities and more growth in terms of partners wanting to invest in our team and in our players,” Stephenson said. “Just the opportunities and the connections we’ve seen since then [Finals] the win was incredible.”
New York Liberty mascot Ellie the Elephant
The opportunity to feature the colourful, dance-loving Ellie the Elephant mascot in the advert is also a big plus for the team. Ellie’s energetic movements and sassy attitude reflect the spirit of her hometown. She was born around the time the team moved from 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, said 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 who knows who I am, who can come up to me and say, ‘Congratulations on a great season.’ The fame is there now. The visibility is there. And I think that’s a testament to the league’s growing viewership,” Jones said.
For Jones, a tangible result of the money now flowing into women’s sports is the fact that this is the first offseason in years where she hasn’t left the U.S. to play in a foreign 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 in the WNBA feel driven to ensure that 2024 is not a one-off, but the beginning of a steadily rising tide.
“Now is the best time for people to invest in women’s sports and turn it from a trend to a lifestyle,” says Jones. “So I’m really happy to be a part of it, to continue to do my part to take the game to the next level and improve it. And I know this will be a big turning point for women’s basketball and women’s sports going forward.”
(Pictured at top: Jonquel Jones, Rebecca Lobo and Kevin Miles)
