- Thorne launched a national "Sports Performance" campaign on August 10, 2026, starring Detroit Pistons guard and NBA All-Star Cade Cunningham.
- The campaign extends Thorne's 2026 "Now I Know" platform and promotes NSF Certified for Sport products, including Advanced Pre-Workout, Plant Protein, and Daily Electrolytes.
- It runs through November 1 with digital out-of-home ads in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, and Miami, plus connected TV, YouTube, and social content directed by Grammy winner Jack Begert.
- The deal lands just days after Thorne agreed to a $3.8 billion sale to Procter & Gamble, and adds Cunningham to a growing Thorne athlete roster.
Thorne has a new face for its national Sports Performance campaign: Cade Cunningham, the Detroit Pistons guard and 2025 NBA All-Star. Thorne unveiled the partnership on August 10, 2026, building on the science-backed wellness brand’s “Now I Know” platform introduced earlier this year.
Created by studio P3 and directed by Grammy winner Jack Begert, the campaign follows Cunningham’s training and recovery routine, tying his on-court discipline to Thorne’s NSF Certified for Sport lineup.
“Success isn’t about finding shortcuts,” Cunningham said, framing the partnership around consistency over quick fixes. Thorne Chief Growth Officer Mary Beech called him the “ideal partner” for a brand built on trust and science.
This marks Cunningham’s first partnership with Thorne. His camp at Excel Sports Management negotiated his biggest recent deal: a six-year Nike re-signing in November 2025 that gives him his own signature shoe debuting in 2026-27, putting him alongside LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo among active Nike signature athletes.
For Thorne, Cunningham joins a roster that includes Jrue Holiday (a partner since 2018) and Ben Shelton. The brand has also pushed into women’s sports and wellness this year, signing WNBA forward Rickea Jackson for an Unrivaled-themed campaign in April, adding Napheesa Collier as an athlete partner in July, and launching a women’s health campaign with Misty Copeland and Lana Condor.
The timing stands out: Thorne agreed on August 4 to be acquired by Procter & Gamble in a $3.8 billion all-cash deal, meaning one of P&G’s newest acquisitions is already leaning on an NBA All-Star to sell its supplements.
Takeaways
Thorne is making a marquee athlete play right as it changes hands. Locking in Cunningham days after agreeing to a $3.8 billion sale to P&G suggests the brand wants its star power secured before the deal even closes.
Cunningham’s off-court value is compounding fast. A fresh six-year Nike deal with a signature shoe on the way, paired with a national wellness campaign, shows his stock rising in step with his stats.
This isn’t a standalone signing; it’s part of a pattern. Thorne pairing a long-standing name like Jrue Holiday with newer athletes’ bets across the NBA and WNBA points to a deliberate, sport-wide wellness push rather than one-off ads.
Will Thorne’s parallel push into WNBA partnerships end up mattering more long-term than a single NBA campaign? Does an athlete-first, science-backed pitch like Thorne’s actually move product in a crowded supplement market, or is it just noise?
