<\/p>\n
To ink a deal with actor and activist Sophia Bush, brands must tick all the right boxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an exhaustive list,\u201d she told us. \u201cI drive my team crazy. I say no to a lot of things that they do not want me to say no to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The One Tree Hill<\/em> and Good Sam<\/em> actor has long been vocal about causes she supports, ranging from abortion rights to civic engagement. Her activism informs how she approaches brand deals: According to Bush, brand partners\u2014which have ranged from Mejuri to 3M\u2014are subject to \u201cintense diligence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people can pass that diligence, it\u2019s super exciting,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to champion those people. I want to encourage them, and if I\u2019m not working with them, I want my friends to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2020, Bush became an investor in the newly founded Angel City FC women\u2019s soccer team. Around that time, Bush said she spoke with a Diageo exec who wanted to get Johnnie Walker whiskey involved with the new team.<\/p>\n Bush\u2019s work with Johnnie Walker, she said, has been part of an ongoing effort to \u201cdisrupt the way that corporate money can affect culture.\u201d We spoke with her about that mission and the results that have stemmed from her work with Johnnie Walker.<\/p>\n Being selective about deals means Bush spent \u201ca long time\u201d waiting for the right opportunity to arise\u2014that is, she said, until Johnnie Walker came along.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always looked at effecting change as a long game,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a quick turnaround thing for me. And I\u2019m really proud to have held out for the right folks.\u201d<\/p>\n Bush began working with Johnnie Walker in 2018 to raise money for She Should Run, an organization dedicated to encouraging women to run for office. Since then, Bush said her work with Johnnie Walker has \u201creally transformed over the years into this incredibly beautiful partnership that touches so many verticals.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Johnnie Walker brought in Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes and Tia P. to create Angel City FC\u2019s official anthem\u2014the first for a US women\u2019s professional sports team, according to the company. Bush noted that the brand has also helped the team fund community programs. According to the Angel City website, 10% of every sponsorship dollar goes toward funding programs dedicated to things like supporting female entrepreneurs, of which Jane Walker by Johnnie Walker is listed as a supporter.<\/p>\n The email newsletter guaranteed to bring you the latest stories shaping the marketing and advertising world, like only the Brew can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe can see the fruits of that labor year after year with the people that we\u2019re supporting,\u00a0 where the grant money has gone, where the corporate sponsorship dollars have gone,\u201d Bush said. \u201cIt\u2019s really amazing to look back and go, \u2018Oh, my God, we\u2019ve had such a great time doing this\u2026Look what we\u2019ve done.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n While she said it can be tempting to gatekeep a good brand partner, Bush is not worried about being \u201cleft behind\u201d as Johnnie Walker expands its portfolio. One of the brand\u2019s newest partners is fellow US women\u2019s soccer team Gotham City FC. Ahead of the Women\u2019s World Cup, Johnnie Walker started running a campaign with Ted Lasso<\/em>\u2019s Hannah Waddingham to encourage people to watch women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n While Bush said people have encouraged her to be \u201cless political\u201d in order to secure more deals, she sees her platform and the impact she\u2019s able to yield from it as a calling. She also emphasized that brands can end up getting \u201cso much more of an ROI\u201d by creating relationships with celebrities or influencers as opposed to one-off endorsement deals, as they\u2019re likely to be more invested in the work.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, life is about so much more than what you do or how much you get paid annually,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about showing up for people. It\u2019s about feeling like you can look yourself in the mirror at the end of the night. And if we\u2019re not prioritizing community wellness, I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s from a brand or a celebrity, having \u201ca platform is a privilege,\u201d Bush said. She said she found it \u201cunacceptable\u201d that brands like Starbucks and Target pulled back on their Pride displays last month, adding that \u201cthe idea that we let harassers win, that we let violent people win…is utterly unacceptable and contemptible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea that you want people to invest in your company\u2026and you won\u2019t use your unbelievably enormous influence to support those people who have helped build your company?\u201d she said. \u201cOne is a relationship and one is a powerful person using people who don\u2019t have the same power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSlow and steady wins the race match<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Get marketing news you’ll actually want to read<\/h5>\n
\u201cA platform is a privilege\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n