How brands got active around the Ashes
In the lead up to the first ball, major brands launched nationwide campaigns to activate around the Ashes to help fuel the hype and capture mass attention
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NFL Australia welcomed Hellmann’s as an Official Sponsor, as well as an Official Sponsor of the first-ever 2026 NFL Melbourne Game at the MCG
Melbourne Stars announced a new Premier Partnership with leader in sustainable battery-powered outdoor equipment, Greenworks Australia, which will see its logo feature on the players’ helmets and caps during the BBL this summer
Cronulla Sharks secured a landmark 3-year stadium Naming Rights Partnership with Ocean Protect, an organisation dedicated to stopping storm water pollution from entering Australia’s oceans and waterways
KuCoin, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, signed on as an Official Partner and exclusive crypto exchange partner of the 2025 BMW Australian PGA Championship
Sydney Swans and International Sport College Australia joined forces to launch the Diploma of Sports Management (High Performance)
North Melbourne FC welcomed Casa Spirits as its new spirit and ready-to-drink partner, making it the exclusive supplier of spirits and RTDs at all AFLW home games, the North Melbourne Breakfast on AFL Grand Final Day, and the AFL and AFLW best and fairest events
Brisbane Roar renewed its partnership with long-time supporter Luxury Paints for the remainder of the 2025/26 Isuzu UTE A-League Men season which will see its logo feature on the back of the Roar’s playing shorts
Richmond FC’s recently launched sports industry network program ‘Punt Road Collective’ announced private equity firm Straight Bat as its inaugural Premium Partner
NBL and WNBL alongside Basketball Australia announced a new partnership with Social Protect, an online safety platform helping athletes, teams and organisations protect themselves from social media abuse and harmful online interactions
Anytime Fitness became an Official Regional Partner of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026
Westbridge Funds Management became the Naming Rights Partner for the 2026 AusCycling Road National Championships
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Manchester United is reportedly set to make a move into basketball by joining the upcoming NBA Europe League
How brands got active around the Ashes
Few sporting events command national attention quite like the Ashes — and this year, Cricket Australia (CA) and a suite of major brands made sure the anticipation hit fever pitch before the first ball was bowled.
While the cricket itself delivered a short, sharp result, the commercial energy around the series showed how brands can turn a sporting moment into a marketing phenomenon.
CA set the tone with its 100-day and 50-day activations, and brands followed with a coordinated blend of media campaigns, PR stunts, experiential pop-ups and headline-grabbing brand collaborations.
Here are some of the highlights 👇
Cricket Australia built hype via 100 and 50-days-to-go PR activations
100-days-to-go:
Unveiled a 100-day countdown clock in Yagan Square, Perth
Launched a pop-up cricket demo in Queensbridge Square, Melbourne with Scott Boland in attendance
*Via MEE Agency - see here for behind the scenes
50-days-to-go - Merv Hughes, Todd Greenberg, and members of the Victorian Government and City of Melbourne celebrated the 50 days to go milestone, and announced the return of the Boxing Day Summer Festival at Yarra Park.
The 50-days-to-go reminder stretched across to London…
Major brands got active
In the lead up to the first ball, major brands announced long-term partnerships, and launched nationwide creative campaigns to activate around the Ashes and capture mass attention.
Brands didn’t just sponsor the event, they shaped the narrative, fuelled the hype, and helped drive record-breaking fan interest.
Westpac and Origin: A new-look uniform for the Aussies
Australia unveiled a fresh new look for the Ashes, with the men’s team debuting redesigned uniforms (from Asics) shaped by major new sponsorships from Westpac and Origin.
Westpac’s bold front-of-shirt branding is thanks to a new 4-year Principal Partnership reportedly worth $40m (it replaced Commonwealth Bank)
Origin was recently announced as a Platinum Partner giving it a prominent position on the sleeve (this new partnership comes 2 years after CA’s $40m deal with fellow energy provider Alinta came to an end)
These new logo placements on the uniforms are premium advertising real-estate which generate huge media value across broadcast and media.
Origin partnership unveiling:
Westpac debuted its first advertising campaign, leveraging its new partnership with Cricket Australia - Outdoor advertising was a key feature.
Chemist Warehouse also ‘hit the ground running at the cricket for the first time’
In September, CA announced Chemist Warehouse as the Official Pharmacy Partner of the Australian Men’s and Women’s teams as part of a new 3-year deal.
To activate its partnership, the renowned pharmacy retailer teamed up with a number of its supplier brands to deliver a range of fan activations outside the stadium.
Many of CA’s partners launched activations at the Fan Festival outside the stadium in Perth, including:
Kayo
Toyota
Westpac
Aussie Broadband
Qantas
Gatorade
See here for more.
NRMA Insurance delivered the Ashes trophy to Steve Waugh at the SCG via helicopter
The stunt marked the launch of CA and NRMA Insurance’s Ashes Trophy Tour which visited locations such as Cootamundra (birthplace of Sir Donald Bradman), and Harrow (home of Johnny Mullagh and the pioneering 1868 Aboriginal cricket team), with the support of TGI Sport Ausralia.
TGI Sport Australia also supported NRMA Insurance to activate the “NRMA Insurance West Test Hill” - a section of Optus Stadium where seating was replaced by a three-tiered grassed area to help recreate the nostalgia associated with the hill at the WACA.
Mike Hussey turned the WACA Ground into an Airbnb
Airbnb teamed up with the WACA Ground and ‘Mr Cricket’ to offer cricket fans an exclusive experience - a group of 4 lucky guests were given the chance to sleep on the hallowed field, play a game of backyard cricket and attend Day 2 of the West Test.
Victoria Bitter teamed up with Merv Hughes to serve up a cheeky campaign
VB paid homage to the infamous 2023 Ashes series, by reminding England of the “Laws of Cricket”.
What they did:
Limited edition beer cans with the Laws of Cricket printed on them, exclusively available at Liquorland (CA partner)
Full-page reminder in London’s Daily Mirror newspaper
OOH greeting the English cricket team and fans at the airport
Merv Hughes appeared on TV, The Grade Cricketer podcast, and handed out cans to the English barmy Army
Social and OOH campaigns
Players fronted brand campaigns:
Pat Cummins, Alyssa Healy, Phoebe Litchfield, Alana King, Sam Konstas and Nathan Lyon feature in Westpac’s “It takes a little Westpac’ cricket campaign which was created in partnership with BMF.
Pat Cummins fronted multiple campaigns:
Liquorland had the Australian cricket captain front its ‘Score More This Summer’ campaign
Gillette launched its 2025 Movember “Your Mo Is Calling,” campaign across broadcast, digital and social featuring Pat Cummins - it aimed to encourage men to start November clean-shaven and grow their moustaches to raise funds and awareness for men’s health
Tourism Australia is rolling out a new installment of its ‘Come and Say G’day’ campaign featuring Pat Cummins and Ruby the Kangaroo across UK TV and digital channels
Mitch Starc is the face of Aussie Broadband’s “Legendary Speed and Support” campaign for the summer, which celebrates reliable, lightning-fast internet and award-winning Aussie support.
Alex Carey, Woolworths’ cricket ambassador, fronted the supermarket’s summer cricket TVC, created in partnership with M+C Saatchi
Mitch Starc, Alex Carey and Sam Konstas teamed up with Asics to launch the Official Ashes range
Proud South Australian and First test-match winner, Travis Head teamed up with Twenty Third Street to promote his new watermelon & apple gin drink collaboration which will be served at Adelaide Oval. He joined Channel 7 to help promote the third test as the ‘Party test match of the summer’.
Brands got active via media partnerships
Out of Home
Last month it was announced that oOh!media signed an agreement with CA to deliver news, highlights and scores across 6 of its Out of Home environments for the 2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes Series, giving brands a powerful way to connect with millions of fans across its Airport, Billboard, Retail, Street, Rail, and Office digital network.
CA’s partners such as Toyota, NRMA Insurance and Liquorland leveraged Ooh!’’’s national network to activate their sponsorships.
Seven secured a suite of new and returning partners for the summer of cricket
After last season’s cricket coverage reached 17.65 million Australians across Seven and 7plus, brands have been lining up to leverage the huge national reach delivered by the summer of cricket — spanning the Ashes, BBL and WBBL.
Returning major partners include: KFC, Toyota, Harvey Norman and Woolworths
Westpac joined as a broadcast partner after coming onboard as a Principal Partner of CA
The Ashes broadcast is also backed by NRMA Insurance, Lion, Bunnings and Chemist Warehouse
BBL and WBBL partners: Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, Youi Insurance, Anaconda and Weber, with major integrated packages from Liquorland, Mitsubishi Electric Australia, BKT, Cancer Council Australia, REA Group, bet365, Drummond Golf and Aussie Beef
Brands also piled on for Foxtel Media’s summer of cricket
Returning sponsors across all formats: Toyota, McDonalds, Harvey Norman, Chemist Warehouse and Bunnings - Ashley & Martin, Daikin also returned to sponsor test matches, HostPlus for The Ashes, and Youi and CBUS for the BBL
New sponsors for all formats: BetR, Canadian Club and Westpac
New sponsors for the Ashes test matches: Aussie Broadband and IG Markets
New WBBL sponsors: Westpac and CBUS
Returning sponsors for WBBL: Toyota, McDonald’s, Harvey Norman and Chemist Warehouse
The Guardian x Qantas
Sponsored by Qantas, the Guardian launched Ashes Weekly - a brand new special edition podcast to deepen Guardian Sport’s commitment to covering the 2025/26 Test series.
Non-Cricket Australia partners also got active…
Sportsbet unveiled a gigantic 4.5-metre-high box of tissues in honour of “whingeing Poms”
The surprise activation was unveiled in the Perth CBD to welcome the English Cricket Team, and to celebrate the tradition of the Poms whingeing about everything - from the pitch, umpires, weather etc. Graeme Swann and Brad Haddin fronted the media to help amplify things.
Sportsbet’s ‘The Grubs’ cricket team also:
Roamed the streets to stir English fans - here
Created a new clean energy solution - powering the summer of cricket using the energy of whingeing Poms - here
Although The Ashes opened with a thrilling bang, the rapid 2-day victory made it challenging for the business of cricket
As Andrew Condon, Managing Director at Gemba explains…
In addition, multiple media outlets are reporting that CA is headed for an estimated loss of more than $3m from ticket revenue for days three and four.
The silver-lining…
Hundreds of kilos of fresh food has been donated to Western Australians in need
OzHarvest partnered with two other local organisations, SecondBite and Foodbank WA to distribute the products to charities, schools, women’s refuges and individuals in need across Perth.
While a 2-day finish has made it tough for fans, brands, broadcasters and stadium operators hoping for a longer run, the cricket season is only just getting started
With the remaining Test matches and the BBL & WBBL still to come, there’s plenty more cricket to be played, and plenty more opportunities for brands to connect, activate and ride the wave of momentum that the Ashes has already ignited.
If this opening Test proved anything, it’s that Australian cricket’s commercial ecosystem is firing!
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