How Aflac Is Closing the Sports Gender Gap by Prioritizing Women's Teams in March Madness

The campaign starring Dawn Staley and Coach K comes after the brand shifted its spend to the women's tournament

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After Auburn freshman Kharyssa Richardson suffered a head injury in November 2022 at the Las Vegas Invitational, she lay on the hardwood floor for 45 minutes waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

For brands with media investments in the NCAA, this was a major wake-up call to the inequities in college basketball and a sign that the way companies value women’s sports needed to change.

Enter Aflac.

The brand had already planned for a spot starring two GOATs—South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley and recently retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, known by all as Coach K—that would run during the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments as part of the company’s three-year deal with the NCAA.

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