Celebrity ad campaigns are now the default for betting apps and prediction markets. Most brands pick sports stars, comedians or actors. Polymarket picked all of the above, and its “Polymarket HQ” campaign, which kicked off in September, goes further than a celebrity parade by building an ad universe the brand can keep returning to.
The 60-second anthem introduces a skyscraper with floors dedicated to politics, the economy, culture and technology. LeBron James rides the elevator to the sports floor, where the doors open on an office with the hectic energy of a trading floor.
John Leguizamo, Spike Lee, Sue Bird, Derek Jeter, Craig Robinson, Alexandra Daddario and Emily Ratajkowski all appear before Eli Manning tackles Richard Sherman through a wall. Follow-up spots use smaller groups of ambassadors to explain individual features such as Squads.
The work was created with Stagwell agency Today on the Moon and runs across TV, digital, out-of-home and social in the U.S. The core idea came from Polymarket; the agency expanded it.
“Audiences have such a relationship with them already that we just wanted to keep it simple and tell a relatable story,” said Tom Suharto, the agency’s chief strategy officer. James’ deal reportedly runs $15 million per year and focuses on football rather than basketball.
A bigger roster means harder trade-offs on set time and screen time. “There were curveballs left and right,” Suharto said, but because the team knew the story it wanted to tell, it could swap talent when someone wasn’t available. The world came first, so the cast could flex.
This wave focuses on sports, but the other floors are ready-made settings. “That's the fun part of building a world that you own,” Suharto said. The agency intentionally left room to return for other cultural moments.
Ads built around one celebrity lose value when the contract ends. An owned setting, character or premise survives cast changes. For a long-running example of brand assets built through repetition, see Why Korean Travel App Yeogi Eottae Has Used the Same Jingle for Six Years.
Use the big spot to introduce the world, then short follow-ups to explain individual features. Smaller brands can borrow this structure without the celebrity budget.
When every competitor hires celebrities, celebrities alone don’t set you apart. What makes Polymarket memorable is the HQ concept, not just the cast.
A series of ads set in a fictional Polymarket skyscraper with topic-specific floors, featuring stars such as LeBron James, Spike Lee and Derek Jeter.
Across TV, digital, out-of-home and social media in the U.S. It was created with Stagwell agency Today on the Moon.
Build an owned premise or setting first, so stories can continue in the same world even when the cast changes.
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