Kevin Durant is an NBA champion, MVP, and gold medalist. This year he added an unlikely title: the “new face of legs.” Skin care brand CeraVe built a social-first campaign around Durant’s famously long, dry limbs, and the payoff was a 43% sales lift, a result the team called almost unheard of.
The origin of the campaign
The idea traces back to a 2021 viral post from former NBA player Isaiah Thomas about Durant’s ashy limbs. CeraVe, the official skin care partner of the NBA, turned that running joke into a full campaign.
- Bolded at OBB was working with Durant on a documentary when the “ashy ankles” angle sparked the pitch.
- The concept: CeraVe wouldn’t sponsor Durant, it would sponsor his legs.
- Approved in December, shot in January, released in February as a three-week push.
A deliberately social-first strategy
The campaign ran across TV, out-of-home, and point-of-sale, but social was the primary focus, per CeraVe US GM Esther Garcia.
- Durant kicked it off with an X video replying to the original post, playing to his reputation for clapping back.
- His first tweet became a top-10 US post out of the gate on organic engagement alone.
- Durant “bread-crumbed” the campaign with paparazzi-style Instagram photos showing CeraVe cream in his gym bag.
The paparazzi tactic echoes CeraVe’s 2024 Super Bowl campaign with Michael Cera, part of what Garcia calls the brand’s playbook: draw people in, then deliver an unexpected twist.
Why it worked
CeraVe had been underindexing among men, and the campaign targeted men, particularly men of color, to adopt skin care.
- The informal success metric: would someone share it in a group chat.
- The brand paired Durant with medical influencers to widen reach.
- Humor and native-feeling content did the heavy lifting rather than hard selling.
The results
The numbers CeraVe shared exclusively with Marketing Brew were strong across the board.
- 43% sales lift, described by Bolded president James Rowe as almost unheard of for double-digit territory.
- 4.1 billion+ PR impressions.
- 83 million organic video views.
CeraVe celebrated the win with Durant at Cannes Lions this week, at Stagwell’s Sport Beach co-hosted by Durant’s media company, Boardroom.
What’s next
CeraVe is still tracking sales growth and plans to keep building on the momentum.
- A long-term NBA partnership remains central to the strategy.
- The brand recently tapped NBA legend Carmelo Anthony to promote anti-dandruff hair products.
- The men’s skin care push continues as the core growth lever.
Rowe summed up the campaign as an entertaining product demo. In his words, it was the most incredible before and after the brand could offer.
