Glossier, Inc.’s Post

After leaving the University of Kentucky to go pro in 2018, track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone signed with entertainment agency WME, which represents major celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Meghan Markle, in hopes of inking brand partnerships that went beyond the traditional athlete shoe deal. “It was all about breaking the norm of what a track and field athlete is,” said Rob Koslowsky, brand partnerships partner at WME, of the agency’s strategy for McLaughlin-Levrone. “And trying to elevate her out of being a track and field athlete, out of being even an #Olympic athlete, and maybe even out of just being an athlete.” Five years and two Olympic gold medals later, that strategy is paying off: Neutrogena named her an ambassador in September. She’s not the only athlete breaking into beauty. L’Oréal named Australian footballer Mary Fowler as ambassador in March, while Procter & Gamble announced French gymnast Mélanie De Jesus Dos Santos as a spokesperson for its Gillette Venus brand last June. More than ever, people — and brands — are paying attention to women’s sports. The women’s NCAA basketball championship game in April drew 24 million viewers across ESPN and ABC, making it the most-watched basketball game — in either men’s or women’s, college or professional — since 2019. In August of last year, viewership for the Women’s FIFA World Cup Final peaked at 12 million viewers, eclipsing Novak Djokovic’s nail-biting loss during the men’s Wimbledon final the previous month. This summer, the Paris Olympics will undoubtedly put female athletes like gymnast Simone Biles and rising tennis star Coco Gauff in the spotlight. Read the full story at BoF.