Hasbro Partners with 12 College Athletes For Their NERF BLITZ Campaign
By Darian Kelly
Last Updated on December 4, 2022
With its recent NERF BLITZ marketing campaign, Nerf has made its way inside the name, image and likeness arena.
The Hasbro toy brand is partnering with 12 top athletes in college sports and will pit them against each other in a two-leg relay race where the winner gets to douse the loser with a Nerf super soaker. In addition, Nerf will equip each participant with the all-new NERF Elite 2.0 Motoblitz Blaster, one of the brand’s top gifts this holiday season.
All 12 of the athletes involved will share NERF BLITZ content across all of their social media channels. In addition, the rostered athletes will donate products to charitable organizations.
The college athletes featured in the NERF BLITZ marketing campaign include:
- Sedona Prince — Oregon Women’s Basketball
- About: Former McDonald’s All-American and 2x FIBA golf medalist. Sedona is also an outspoken advocate for student-athletes, a driver of change in the LGBTQ+ community, and a relatable, quirky and smart TikTok star.
- NERF BLITZ! Content: TikTok (Followers: 3M) / Instagram (Followers: 234K)
- Charity of Choice: Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
- Paige Bueckers — UConn Women’s Basketball
- Jon Seaton and Jabril Williams — Elon Football
- A.J. Henning and RJ Moten — University of Michigan Football
- About: Henning (junior WR) is a 2021 Academic All-Big Ten honoree and leading returner for UofM football; also the all-Big Ten at the position & 2019 Gatorade PoY in Illinois in HS. Moten (junior DB) is a 2021 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
- NERF BLITZ! Content:
- Charity of Choice: Boys & Girls Club of Detroit
- Armando Bacot (senior) and RJ Davis (junior) — UNC Men’s Basketball
- About: Faces of runner-up 2022 national championship game team. Bacot was 2022 First-Team All-ACC and Davis former Mr. NY Basketball (2020).
- NERF BLITZ! Content:
- Charity of Choice: Me Fine Foundation
- Tommy White and Alex Milazzo — LSU Baseball
- About: Tommy is First-Base; former NC State Freshman who collected several accolades in his 2022 freshman season (ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Freshman Team, NC State Single Season HR Record Holder). Alex is a Catcher and 2020-2022 Academic Honor Roll
- NERF BLITZ! Content:
- Charity of Choice: Empower 225
- Chase Dollander and Chase Burns — Tennessee Pitchers
- About: Dollander is considered one of the top pitchers in the US, multiple all-American first team honors with major publications in college baseball.
- NERF BLITZ! Content:
- Charity of Choice: East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
The NERF BLITZ NIL marketing campaign is a part of a more significant initiative for Nerf to expand its reach in the action sports industry. Nerf is trying to expand its brand to new audiences by leveraging college athletes and social media.
Recently, the brand included NBA All-Star Luka Dončić in their promotional content NERF Elite 2.0 Motoblitz Blaster and Viper Strike ahead of the holiday season. Dončić is known for his magician-like no-look passes and trick shots on Tik Tok, so Nerf put his skills on full display within their interactive 3D environments. These transformative real-world content videos, described as “Where Nerf meets AI technology,” give viewers a matrix-like experience.
While already a recognizable brand for decades, Nerf is looking to the influence of college athletes through NIL, one of the NBA’s best young stars and artificial intelligence to expand its footprint in the dynamic sports landscape.
