Returning Champs Gatorade and AT&T Shine at NCAA Women’s Tourney

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament has become a mainstay of modern TV media plans by delivering consistently strong performance for advertisers. In fact, ads broadcast during the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball final delivered 9.4x as much impact as the average ad on primetime broadcast and cable — making it the most impactful women’s sports event of the year.

EDO is keeping tabs on the brands capitalizing on an energized, leaned-in audience at this year’s tournament. Here’s a look at who’s standing out and which creatives are breaking through the noise as of the end of the Elite Eight.

A chart-topping return to the dance for AT&T

AT&T and Gatorade, which made up 2.2% and 2.5% of total women’s sports impressions in 2025, are proving that they’re far from one-and-dones at The Big Dance.

Each of these blue-chip brands landed in the top 10 in total, ad-driven engagement generated by brands at this year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament through the Elite Eight. AT&T topped the charts by driving 5.7% of all engagement at the tournament, and Gatorade came 7th by generating 2.7%.

AT&T’s success was driven in large part by an ad featuring Blake Griffin and Arturo Castro in a relatable moment of connection, as Griffin is credited back a portion of his wireless bill due to a service interruption. The message is simple: we’re all here for connection, and AT&T has got your back. 

Minimalism and authenticity scale ad deliver at the 2026 women's tournament

Gatorade, meanwhile, opted for an aesthetic vibe, capitalizing on a black-and-white spot with pink text starring Caitlin Clark. The brand introduced a low sugar version of the drink with no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. Creative made the point: keep it classic, but level up from water and improve your performance.

Another big winner was ChatGPT. The AI chatbot giant delivered a relatable, social-media style short featuring two teens fixing a pickup while their prompt and the model’s response scroll down the screen in muted white like rolling credits. The search? “Dad said the truck was ours if we fix it. Help us get it running.” Spoiler: the engine eventually revs up. 

In line with Gatorade’s approach, minimalism and authenticity won out for this top performing brand in 2026. 

Want to learn more about what works in women’s sports TV advertising?

Download EDO’s 2026 Women’s Sport Report for a full breakdown of the stats complete with a full list of events brands needs to pay attention to now.