With the WNBA All-Star break wrapped up, teams and fans are looking to the second half of the season and potential paths to the playoffs. But the league can already celebrate one major win: a powerful start in TV ad engagement, which is up 3% over last year – according to EDO’s TV outcomes measurement.
To better understand WNBA performance, EDO analyzed all TV ads that aired during games between May 16 to July 16 — all regular season contests prior to the All-Star break. This includes over 2,700 ad airings, $17.8 million in spend, and 1.9 billion impressions. Here’s what media buyers should know for their Q4 planning cycles and beyond.
Clark ‘Fever’ and rivalries drive biggest impact
While a growing list of WNBA stars is attracting fans, the impact of Caitlin Clark can’t be overstated. When looking at ad effectiveness, all three top-performing WNBA games, and five of the top 10, featured Clark’s Indiana Fever. Ads during Fever games generate 4.8x the total impact of the average WNBA ad — a metric that includes both viewership and ad effectiveness.
High-profile matchups of popular WNBA teams also deliver consistently high TV ad engagement. The Chicago Sky at New York Liberty was the fourth-most engaging game of the season so far, driving 27% higher likely engagement than the primetime cable or broadcast average. Just behind them were the Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury, with a 20% performance lift.
Auto brands speed ahead in WNBA’s first half
Advertisers in industries ranging from retail to electronics to financial services have all scored winning ad engagement in WNBA programming. But the first half of the 2025 season saw two clear categories in the lead: automotives and restaurants.
Topping the charts is the luxury auto brand Lexus, whose ad spots were on average 478% more likely to drive consumer engagement than the primetime average. The brand’s best-performing creative, “Gesture,” showcased a new technology that allows consumers to parallel park their SUVs with a point-and-drag app on their phone.
Honda (+417%) led the way among non-luxury auto brands, followed by Kia (225%) and Volkswagen (118%).
Contextual relevance drives results
One winning strategy for WNBA advertisers this season? Supercharging creatives with the league’s growing star power. Live sports mainstays Nike and Gatorade both capitalized on this trend in the first half of the 2025 WNBA regular season:
- Nike’s "One of a Kind" (+187% more effective than the average WNBA ad) features athletic young girls intercut with A'ja Wilson game footage, connecting aspirational messaging with current star power
- Gatorade’s "Cool Blue" (+240% more effective than the average WNBA ad) stars Caitlin Clark with messaging about the world’s most advanced sports drinks helping athletes earn their place in history
Tips for winning WNBA’s second half
The WNBA remains an unignorable media opportunity, but the most successful advertisers don’t treat these investments as simple media buys. Instead, there are simple steps to help maximize campaign impact within existing TV budgets:
- Creative integration pays off: Brands that integrate WNBA stars into their creative strategies achieve 2-3x higher engagement rates than the average ad aired during WNBA games
- Category alignment: Food service, beverage, and lifestyle brands show natural compatibility with WNBA audiences, sparking 10x impact gains.
When it comes to getting the most out of your WNBA buy, the choice is simple: lead with a data-driven strategy, or prepare an excuse for dropping the ball on one of the year’s highest-performing ad plays.