In Running Point's second episode,Uncut Archives Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) faces a major problem. She's just been named president of the Los Angeles Waves basketball team, taking over for her brother Cam (Justin Theroux) while he's in rehab. But the revelation of Cam's drug misuse has led the Waves' biggest sponsor, the conservative (and fictional) Snoozepedic Beds, to drop their support.
SEE ALSO: 'Running Point' review: Mindy Kaling's latest combines 'Ted Lasso,' 'Succession,' and basketballNow, it's up to Isla to secure a new sponsor. And by the episode's end, she's turned to a very real company to get the job done: Sephora.
The way Isla sees it, having Sephora as the Waves' primary sponsor will be a nice break from the "typical dude bro brands" that usually back men's professional basketball teams. Plus, she points out that it's a solid marketing tactic for the Waves' female audience.
"Our analysis shows that women make up one-third of all basketball viewers," Isla tells the Sephora CMO. "That means, on any given night, say we have six million people watching a game, that's two women who all want to have glassy skin and a tight eyebrow game. And they're gonna see your logo every night. You have the ability to tap into a market that's never been touched!"
The Sephora deal ends up going through in Running Point, resulting in some initially misogynistic reactions from some of the Waves players. But Running Pointisn't the only place where Sephora has thrown its weight behind professional basketball. In real life, the makeup brand serves as the official beauty partner of Unrivaled, a professional women's three-on-three league that kicked off its inaugural season on Jan. 17, 2025. Unrivaled features big-name players like co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, as well as Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, and more.
On top of running ads during games and having on-court signage, Sephora equips Unrivaled's glam room. Plus, their logo is featured prominently on the referees' uniforms, earning them the nickname of "Sephora refs" on social media.
The basketball and Sephora crossover doesn't end there! On Jan. 9, 2025, Sephora Canada also announced that it would the first founding partner of the Toronto Tempo, Canada's first WNBA team, which begins play in the 2026 season. Sephora's presence in both the WNBA and Unrivaled is proof of brands seeing the monetary potential in women's basketball, especially following the WNBA's record-setting 2024 season. (Further proof lies in Unrivaled's extensive list of sponsorships, which includes big names like Samsung Galaxy, State Farm, and Sprite.)
Running Point was shot in 2024, well before any of these deals were announced, meaning it basically predicted the future — just for the wrong league! But maybe seeing one of the show's plotlines play out in real-time in women's sports could encourage co-creators Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen to incorporate a storyline about women's basketball in future Running Pointseasons.
Running Point is now streaming on Netflix. Unrivaled airs on TNT and TruTV and streams on B/R Sports on Max.
Topics Netflix Streaming Sports
Best Amazon deal: Get a $5 Amazon credit when you spend $30 on home essentials
'Judy Blume Forever' review: A literary icon gets a triumphant, timely tribute
Jamey Gambrell on Vladimir Sorokin by Nicole Rudick
Protesters turned Donald Trump's #BabyGate fence into beautiful art
Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best air purifier deals from Dyson, Shark, LG, and more
In Defense of Wanderlust by Miranda Popkey
Jennifer Egan, Visit From the Goon Squad, and Egan Fever
A Week in Culture: Joe Ollmann, Cartoonist by Joe Ollmann
The Story Behind the Home of Forgotten Video Games
Fiction v. Reporting; Blind Dates by Lorin Stein
Gods of War
'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for April 23
BTS gave $1 million to Black Lives Matter. The Army wants to match it.
'Beau Is Afraid': Did you catch that comedian cameo?
Contingent No More
Shiv Roy is the stealthy MVP of 'Succession' Season 4, episode 5
BTS gave $1 million to Black Lives Matter. The Army wants to match it.
Elon Musk's Twitter Blue sees a modest 28 new signups within a day of legacy checkmark purge
Fyre Festival and Trump’s Language
Pear ring for singles wants to replace dating apps
Scenes Not Included in Henry James’s The Ambassadors (NSFW)U.S. to spend $42 billion to expand broadband internet access under Biden planScenes Not Included in Henry James’s The Ambassadors (NSFW)When Baseball Isn’t Baseball by Adam SobseySome Sort of Alchemy by Albert MobilioSandwich Man by Nathan DeuelSpacecraft skims Mercury during closeCelebrity Publishing, and Other News by Sadie SteinU.S. to spend $42 billion to expand broadband internet access under Biden plan11 of the most expensive sex toysRomance of the Rose: On Jay DeFeo by Yevgeniya TrapsWhat We’re Loving: Foot Juggling, Dancing, and Coregasms by The Paris ReviewMarvel, Netflix, and others won't be at San Diego ComicWhat We’re Loving: Rilke, Revolution, and Wild Places by The Paris ReviewEvery U.S. city testing free money programsHow to Talk to Lady Writers, and Other News by Sadie Stein'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for June 26R.I.P. Mr. Merker, and Other News by Sadie SteinA Reading Rainbow, and Other News by Sadie Stein'Black Mirror's 'Demon 79' episode nods to Stephen King book Everything you need to know about Intel's scary security flaw Seduce people using this ‘slow’ dating app — if you have time United allegedly burned dead giant rabbit's remains without consent Scared, lonely and confused: What concussions inflict upon NFL legends Björk wants you to stop Instagramming and go to the forest Snapchat's constant evolution shows it won't let itself be crushed by Facebook Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson says running for president is a 'real possibility' Want to find a date? Here's where Tinder says you should work. Extremely lit sign language interpreter steals the show at Snoop Dogg's concert Facebook empowers Page owners to politicize their posts Amazon's Echo Show stands on the shoulders of these failed internet appliances Trump discovers a whole new way to embarrass himself on Twitter Grammarly raises $110 million to check your typos and grammar mistakes Elon Musk: Pre Harry Styles hasn't quite mastered the stage dive yet, but his solo music sparkles live People are cutting up Ikea tote bags to make weird and wonderful creations Even Edward Snowden thinks Trump firing James Comey was messed up Robots are getting better at teaching other robots how to do things. Oh. Cortana will soon have a lot more skills to show off The 'Avatar' sequels cast a key new character, so they must be real
2.2042s , 10132.0546875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Uncut Archives】,Miracle Information Network