Andy Ruiz Jr.’s stunning upset of Anthony Joshua set the sports world on its ear, and his victory lap has include the talkshow circuit and other must do’s befitting a new heavyweight champ, one who’s start to the belt began with something even “Rocky” never did, a Direct Message to a promoter to see about a chance to enter the ring.
Throughout his training Ruiz Jr. gave the only snack he kept eating, Snickers, plenty of love, with little back…until this past weekend.
The Snickers love story went viral right after the fight, setting the social world ablaze, and now the brand seized the moment by getting the new titleholder some candy love back the other way, at least on social for now, with a proposed care package, and hopefully more to come in terms of a bigger deal for the big champ.
Now it certainly doesn’t have the massive initial audience of Marshawn Lynch and Skittles or the great, timely play Oreos had with the blackout during the Super Bowl, but it presents a smart, easy way for Snickers to get into a national conversation that didn’t even really exist before Saturday night’s stunner.
It will have shelf life through the next boxing cycle and into a Joshua rematch which some on the inside say will have even more appeal than the former heavyweight champ’s more anticipated next fight had he won, and for Ruiz, Snickers represents mainstream brand exposure that most in boxing would covet regardless of the record. His Mexican heritage, even though he does not speak Spanish, is also a nice addition for Snickers?
Any downside for the brand? None right now, although there will be some due diligence out towards it. Nice to see Snickers move with the viral wave to get on board, interested to see how far it can go.
