Retail Media Satire
Brands Crowd The NYC Marathon's 50th Anniversary; Runners Asked To Hydrate, Carb-Load And Visit Eleven Pop-Ups Before Mile 1
Celsius, Maybelline, Vuori and Saatva are all showing up for race weekend. The course itself has requested a lanyard.
Based on real news: From Celsius to Maybelline, more brands are showing up for the New York City Marathon's 50th anniversary (Modern Retail)
NEW YORK—The 50th anniversary of the modern five-borough New York City Marathon is expected to break participant records, and according to Modern Retail, it is breaking brand records too. Celsius is opening a Club Celsius pop-up along the route in Brooklyn from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, Maybelline is the race's first-ever official beauty sponsor, and Vuori and Saatva are hosting their first marathon activations.
Beyond footwear regulars such as Nike, New Balance and Hoka, the lineup now includes beauty brands like Salt & Stone and restaurants courting runners who need to carb-load. Club Celsius plans programming from a shakeout run to a post-race live dating show and a Medal Monday recovery session.
"I came to New York to run 26.2 miles," said a fictional first-time marathoner from Omaha, holding seven tote bags on Thursday afternoon. "So far I have done a shakeout run, a mascara consultation and a panel on sleep. I have not yet located the start line, but I have been very well moisturized."
said a fictional first-time marathoner from Omaha, holding seven tote bags on Thursday afternoon.
For an ad-tech person, this is the purest form of reach there is: 50,000 people in a single line, moving at a predictable pace, past a cheering audience that cannot scroll away. A fictional retail media buyer called it "the world's longest shoppable aisle," then apologized, then asked if mile 18 was still available.
The course has noticed. "I used to be pavement," said a fictional stretch of First Avenue. "Now I am a sampling opportunity with a bridge at each end."
Disclosure: researching this story, this reporter saw an ad for the same weighted blanket that has followed him on every screen since 2023, this time on a phone held up by a spectator in a fictional cheering section in Williamsburg. I did not click it. I did, briefly, cheer.
Organizers said the race will still be run on foot.
More on Celsius · Hoka · Maybelline · New Balance · Nike · Saatva · Salt & Stone · Vuori
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Riffing on: From Celsius to Maybelline, more brands are showing up for the New York City Marathon's 50th anniversary, Modern Retail