Carmelo Anthony and AT&T Build Brands Bigger Than Basketball

Notte’s Notes

• There’s value in veteran presence. Yes, it pays to invest in younger professional athletes in the long term, but Anthony’s experience with BBDO and AT&T shows that someone who knows the playbook immediately and knows their way around cameras and a script can be a smart pickup for a brand.
• Find a reliable network. While that’s fine advice in AT&T’s industry, it’s even better advice in sports marketing, where an athlete who’s spent an entire career getting to know other athletes, entertainers, businesspeople, and brand leaders could be valuable if you, say, need to completely reshuffle an ad shoot at the last minute.
• Consider everyone’s brand. If a veteran athlete says yes to endorsing your company, realize that they’re likely a small industry of their own at this stage of their career and be flexible with the ask. As for sports stars, if you’ve reached the stage in your career where you can pick and choose which brand you work with, select ones that not only suit your interests, but make you want to do the work they’ll ask of you.

From Draft Day to Hall of Fame

The evolution of Carmelo Anthony and his brand since his NCAA championship and first-round pick 22 years ago came with a few of his signature pivots, and required brand partners like AT&T to pivot right along with him.

On Nov. 4, Anthony’s son Kiyan scored 15 points in his first regular-season game for Syracuse University—the same program where Anthony led the Orange to a national championship in 2003, just before the Denver Nuggets selected him third overall in that year's NBA Draft. The timing caps a transformative year. Anthony earned National Basketball Hall of Fame induction, joined the NBA on NBC as a studio analyst during the Kentucky Derby, and delivered a commencement address to graduates at Syracuse that captured his evolution:

Building Beyond the Court

Even before retiring from the NBA in 2023, Anthony constructed an empire that extends far beyond his 10-time All-Star selections and three Olympic gold medals. In 2021, he launched Creative 7, his content production company, followed by VII(N) The Seventh Estate wine brand in 2022 —a collaboration with Robert Mondavi and long-time business partner Asani Swann. His podcast series—What’s In Your Glass?—evolved from a YouTube show into a platform that eventually led to 7 p.m. in Brooklyn.

“Across Creative 7 and VII(N) The Seventh Estate, I’ve been intentional about building not just a brand, but a cultural language—one rooted in authenticity, creative integrity, and a sense of purpose beyond aesthetics,” Swann told Sport Beach. “That voice has naturally shaped how we approach partnerships.”

Recent launches include STAYME7O, his cannabis brand, and Grand National, a cannabis-related agency. Alongside these entrepreneurial ventures, Anthony funds the Carmelo Anthony Foundation, which creates basketball-based opportunities for underprivileged youth, and the Social Change Fund—co-founded with Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade—that builds entrepreneurial pathways in underserved communities.

“Building a successful brand starts with the team around you and the intentionality behind every decision,” Anthony told Sport Beach. “I’ve never been interested in just putting my name on something. Every project I take on has to be strategic, purposeful, and aligned with who I am.”

To the discerning eye, Anthony's seemingly disparate ventures share a unifying element: the people he works with and the relationships he's cultivated since he cut down the nets in New Orleans as a rookie and made his first start with the Denver Nuggets. These connections—particularly with Swann—now form the foundation of his brand equity.

“With other ventures, like VII(N) The Seventh Estate, Asani and I set out to create something bigger than ourselves – a brand that challenges expectations and redefines what’s possible in the wine industry,” Anthony added.

That web of relationships caught AT&T's attention as the NCAA Corporate Champion prepared for March Madness 2024

“Carmelo was a natural fit for AT&T because of that exact reason. It’s all about the power of connection [and] at AT&T, connecting people and bringing them together is at the heart of everything we do,” said Valerie Vargas, SVP of content creation and advertising for AT&T. “I think Carmelo recognized that alignment and was open to exploring moments that bring people together best – those every day, relatable situations that often come with a humorous twist. I think it was a way for him to show a more playful side without compromising the authenticity of his personal relationships.”

From Boxy Suits to Mini Melo

Anthony’s partnership with AT&T fit his and Swann’s desire to not box in his public persona and highlight his interests beyond basketball, including storytelling, mentorship, community, and the broader culture.

“That kind of project added real dimension to the brand portfolio because it bridges categories: sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and tech,” Swann said. “It reinforces the idea that Carmelo’s brand isn’t just about where he’s been, but about how he continues to evolve.”

The first AT&T spot, "Boxy Boys," transported viewers to just before the 2003 NBA Draft, where Anthony dispenses dubious suit advice to future No. 27 pick, 2008 NBA Champion, and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins and No. 8 pick T.J. Ford. A year later, Anthony returned alongside his son Kiyan, former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, and fellow Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade to celebrate a small bronze statue—the "Mini Melo" that gives the ad its name.

While Anthony's earlier commercials for Degree and Foot Locker promoted youthful energy, his post-retirement spots for David Yurman and 1800 Tequila present a seasoned sophistication and aspirational brand image. When West BBDO EVP and executive creative director Ash Tavassoli presented Anthony with an early 2000s oversized suit for the humorous "Boxy Boys" shoot, he told the team: "I know you're making fun of me, but I'm down for the cause."

“Carmelo is a really great example of someone who has achieved everything you could achieve, and all you can really do is sit back and laugh,” said Ash Tavassoli, EVP and executive creative director at West BBDO whose team worked with Anthony on both AT&T ads. “Nobody wants an old head who all they're doing is preaching like the generation before him, and I think this, like, new generation of Dwyane Wade, Melo, LeBron James when he retires, Kevin Durant when he retires… I think these guys are going to be poking fun at themselves.”

Banana Boat Boys to Men

When the AT&T March Madness spot was initially proposed to Anthony by BBDO and AT&T, it wasn’t a throwback to 2003, but a return to the banana boat in 2015. Though Anthony was famously absent from the inflatable, he arrived later with wine in hand and the association stuck, cementing his place within the Banana Boat Crew.

Anthony was interested, but getting all four superstars together logistically proved impossible. Then, just before March Madness 2024, copywriter Charlotte Duerden pitched a different concept: a throwback to the 2003 NBA Draft class in unfortunate formalwear—"Boxy Boys." Within a week, Tavassoli's team surrounded Anthony with Perkins and Ford to shoot.

The Boxy Boys on set with AT&T

“We wanted athletes who could play off each other well – without overpowering the scene, and without taking themselves too seriously…they had to relive those boxy suits, after all!” AT&T’s Vargas said. “You could tell the guys were comfortable around each other and were genuinely having a good time. That’s exactly what we really wanted to come through - those playful jabs that only the best of friends can make.”

But there’s a line between joking around with friends and having the joke be on you. When Perkins received his oversized suit, it actually fit his 6-foot-10, 270-pound frame so well he wore it off set. Anthony was willing to go the length for the joke and told Tavassoli that despite the laughs that would be directed his way, he was “down for the cause.”

“When he says he's down for the cause, that shows a little level of maturity, that there's a brand that has something really important to say,” Tavassoli said. “Maybe, when he's younger, he might take himself too seriously and he might reject the spot. but as he gets older and more accomplished—and Kobe Bryant was a great example of this—you just take yourself a little less seriously.”

An Unexpected Discovery: Anthony Can Act

Once "Boxy Boys" wrapped, the BBDO team made a discovery: Despite the fact that he wasn’t doing many commercials at the time, Anthony could act.

In sports marketing, where Tavassoli said his team have to keep athlete lines typically remain minimal due to inexperience, having talent comfortable enough to improvise and adapt proved invaluable.

By March Madness 2025, AT&T and BBDO had a few more ideas they wanted to bounce off of Anthony, but he kept gravitating back to a script involving an athlete’s retirement ceremony.

“Authenticity matters — it has to reflect my story, my experiences, and what I’m passionate about,” Anthony said. “The AT&T March Madness campaign was a chance to reconnect with college basketball fans in a real way — that’s part of my journey from Syracuse, and something I genuinely relate to.”

Using Anthony’s NBA on NBC co-star Vince Carter's recent ceremony as a template, the BDDO creative team assembled Kiyan, Jim Boeheim, and—added at the last moment—Dwyane Wade. With Anthony preparing to speak at Syracuse's graduation, awaiting Hall of Fame induction, and preparing for Kiyan's first college season, anchoring the spot to his collegiate Syracuse legacy felt right.

“Whenever we have the opportunity to tap into a cultural moment, it creates a more authentic and resonant connection,” AT&T’s Vargas said. “In this case, it was a privilege to be just a small part of celebrating Carmelo’s legacy and contributions to the game and basketball community.”

The Next Generation Learns From the First

During the "Mini Melo" shoot, Tavassoli watched Anthony coach his son through production—laughing at lines, telling him to take his time, advising him to hold still for the camera. He saw a 17-year-old learning how to navigate a professional set and a veteran athlete transmitting decades of camera experience to the next generation.

Carmelo and Kiyan Anthony on set for the Mini Melo shoot

More importantly, he saw a young athlete building his brand while learning from a Hall of Famer who built his through disciplined diversification. Anthony has cultivated relationships with brands that value his ability to make their interests his own instead of being limited to his on-court numbers.

“We shoot a lot of stuff with younger athletes, they're really concerned about what they're wearing and things that have nothing to do with what the bigger picture is,” Tavassoli said. “With [Anthony], when he says, ‘I'm down for the cause,’ the cause is to make sure that AT&T and what they bring to the table—‘connecting changes everything’ really comes through.”