The pharmaceutical giant Lilly has joined forces with Amazon Ads for a significant new advertising campaign featuring basketball icon Candace Parker. This collaboration, which debuted during a WNBA on Prime doubleheader on July 30th, underscores Lilly’s escalating commitment to women’s sports and its strategic alignment with Amazon’s expanding presence in live sports broadcasting. The campaign was meticulously crafted through a close partnership between Lilly’s creative strategists and Amazon Ads’ sports-brand partnership team, aiming to resonate with a growing audience that values both athletic achievement and personal well-being.
This latest initiative builds upon Lilly’s earlier "Start How You Can" campaign, launched in May, which prominently featured WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark and was developed in conjunction with the agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland. Lilly’s support for women’s basketball extends beyond advertising; the Indiana-based company is also the jersey patch sponsor for Clark’s WNBA team, the Indiana Fever. The synergy between these campaigns and Lilly’s sponsorship activities highlights a deliberate strategy to engage with the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of women’s sports, a domain where Prime Video is increasingly asserting its influence.
Lina Polimeni, Senior Vice President and Consumer CMO at Lilly, articulated the company’s vision: "Women’s sports are at the center of culture, and conversations about health belong there too. For 150 years, Lilly has broken through barriers, always pushing toward what comes next. That’s the same grit that’s made women’s sports one of the most exciting stories in culture today, and it’s exactly where we want to be – not just as a sponsor on the sidelines, but a partner invested in where the game is going." This statement emphasizes Lilly’s desire to be an integral part of the growth and narrative of women’s athletics, moving beyond passive sponsorship to active partnership.
The campaign’s production, involving not only marketing services but also talent acquisition, demonstrates how brands can effectively leverage the Amazon platform for storytelling-driven advertising. This approach mirrors previous successful collaborations, such as Mercedes-Benz USA’s custom ad campaigns with Amazon Ads around NBA programming. By integrating talent deeply connected to the sport, such as Candace Parker, both Lilly and Amazon aim to create more authentic and impactful connections with viewers.
Candace Parker: A Multifaceted Role Model in the Spotlight
The 30-second spot featuring Candace Parker showcases her in a basketball practice facility, portraying her in a diverse array of roles: wife, mother, president, owner, hustler, winner, analyst, and trailblazer. Through these depictions, the advertisement highlights the critical importance of her health, both on and off the court. Parker, a celebrated figure in basketball, currently serves as an analyst for Prime Video’s WNBA coverage and is poised for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, a testament to her enduring legacy and influence.
Amy McDevitt, Head of Sports Partnerships at Amazon Ads, commented on the effectiveness of this strategy: "We see that brands stand out more when they’re leveraging our own talent to tell their stories during the live events. It tells the viewer, ‘This brand gets me because they know I’m watching this content and they’re delivering me a message using some of the same experts in their creative.’" This sentiment underscores the value of authentic integration, where the brand message feels organic and relevant to the viewing experience, enhanced by the presence of familiar and respected personalities.
The campaign’s core message aims to convey that despite Lilly’s 150-year history, the company remains forward-looking and ambitious, a characteristic it draws parallels to in Candace Parker’s own multifaceted career. Beyond her playing days, Parker has embraced significant roles, including part-owner of the NWSL’s Angel City FC, president of Adidas Women’s Basketball, and her analyst position with Prime Video. Lilly’s strategic investments in women’s sports, including its advertising presence in the WNBA and its role as a presenting sponsor for the National Women’s Soccer League on Prime, further solidify its commitment to elevating these platforms.
Amazon’s Expanding Footprint in Live Sports
The WNBA has been a fixture on Prime Video since 2021. This year, Prime Video and the WNBA solidified their partnership with an 11-year rights agreement, granting Prime Video exclusive streaming rights to 30 regular-season games annually. This significant deal reflects Amazon’s broader strategy to integrate live sports into its ecosystem, enhancing viewer engagement and creating valuable advertising opportunities. Amazon is diligently applying Nielsen measurement to its WNBA broadcasts, continuously learning and refining its approach in the burgeoning women’s sports market.
In a significant expansion of its sports coverage, Prime Video is offering a comprehensive slate of shoulder programming for both the WNBA and NWSL this year. This includes pregame, halftime, and post-game analysis, broadcast from the same state-of-the-art studio used for NBA on Prime. This elevated presentation standard is crucial in positioning women’s sports on par with men’s sports, a development that aligns with the increasing interest from brands seeking to connect with these dedicated audiences.
The demand for advertising inventory within women’s sports on Prime Video is remarkably high. McDevitt noted that Amazon Ads is nearing a sell-out for both WNBA and NWSL inventory. Advertisers are actively seeking innovative ways to engage, including leveraging social media platforms, partnering with other Amazon properties like Twitch, and developing custom content like the Lilly campaign.
"In certain cases, we’re having to build incremental opportunities… so that we can answer the demand," McDevitt explained. "Brands don’t want to just run their commercials – they want to surround and be more organic in the sport, so we’re trying to give them multiple ways to do that." This indicates a shift from traditional advertising models to more integrated and immersive brand experiences.
The Financial Impact and Future Outlook
The success of live sports on Prime Video has had a tangible impact on Amazon’s advertising segment. In Q2 2026, this segment generated $19.8 billion in revenue, partly fueled by the appeal of live sports. Data from an earnings call reveals that brands engaging across multiple sports achieved 2.3 times higher unduplicated reach compared to those advertising in a single sport. Furthermore, viewers who engage with multisport content demonstrated a 12% higher spend and 17% increase in orders on Amazon. McDevitt concluded that such multisport strategies, whether encompassing the WNBA, NWSL, or other leagues, represent a "winning formula" for both advertisers and Amazon.
The strategic partnership between Lilly and Amazon Ads, exemplified by the Candace Parker campaign, highlights a sophisticated understanding of the modern media landscape and the growing cultural significance of women’s sports. By aligning with influential athletes and leveraging Prime Video’s expansive reach and innovative advertising solutions, Lilly is positioning itself as a forward-thinking brand invested in the future of both health and athletics. As women’s sports continue to gain momentum, such collaborations are likely to become even more prevalent, offering brands powerful new avenues for consumer engagement and brand building. The increasing demand for advertising inventory and the development of bespoke content solutions underscore a robust and growing market, signaling a bright future for women’s sports and the brands that support them.
