Dive Brief:

• Dick’s Sporting Goods is nudging more customers toward its e-commerce business with a new celebrity filled advertising campaign, according to a press release. 
• “Click on Dicks.com” stars actors Will Arnett and Kathryn Hahn as they scramble to purchase sporting goods, only to be reminded that Dicks.com is a faster way to shop. They’re then transported to a sprawling virtual warehouse that carries all the products they need.   
• The effort launched Wednesday across broadcast TV, social channels and several streaming platforms, including YouTube, Amazon and Netflix. It seeks to extend Dick’s winning streak with e-commerce, which provided a boon during the pandemic.  

Dive Insight:

Dick’s latest campaign aims to remind consumers about the convenience and speed of shopping for sporting goods online. “Click on Dicks.com” was developed with agency partner Juxtapose Studio and production house London Alley, while the commercials were directed by actor and screenwriter Lake Bell. The creative leans into Arnett and Hahn’s comedic backgrounds and references recent sales trends, such as the emergence of the Stanley tumbler as a favorite among Gen Z. 

In Hahn’s spot, the “WandaVision” star plays a cool aunt who’s forgotten to pick up basketball shoes for her nephew ahead of tryouts. After lamenting that she doesn’t have time to stop by a physical Dick’s store, Hahn is reminded by her younger relative that she could just go to Dicks.com. She is then zapped to a virtual Dick’s destination that has the sneakers she needs, as well as reams of basketballs, Stanley cups and other products. 

Arnett’s commercial plays out in a similar fashion, with the actor searching for soccer cleats for his daughter and sweating as he attempts to appear in the know about Dicks.com.

Dick’s media strategy includes traditional broadcast elements but also bets around streaming, with buys on Amazon and Netflix. Both platforms are ramping up their overtures to Madison Avenue to improve profitability as investor focus moves away from subscriber growth. Amazon started running a limited number of ads in Prime Video in January, a somewhat controversial change from its previous model, while Netflix has offered a cheaper ad-supported tier since late 2022.    

Dick’s began investing more heavily in online sales channels in the latter half of the 2010s, an approach that paid off once the pandemic waylaid in-person shopping. As brick-and-mortar has bounced back, with Dick’s continuing to expand its store footprint, the retailer is also looking to sustain digital and mobile traffic. The company saw net sales up 2.8% year-over-year to $3 billion in Q3, results that were fortified by a solid back-to-school season.