CeraVe teams up with the NBA
CeraVe becomes the NBA’s official skincare and haircare partner. Here’s what this cultural crossover means for marketers
Skincare brand CeraVe has entered the big leagues. Literally. In a newly announced multiyear partnership, CeraVe is now the official skincare and haircare partner of the NBA.
With athlete-fronted campaigns, edutainment collabs, and in-game branding built into the deal, CeraVe’s latest move offers a playbook for performance-driven consumer brands looking to break out of traditional categories.
This article explores how the brand is moving beyond the dermatology aisle and into arenas, video games, and meme accounts. It also breaks down what it means for marketers trying to fuse health, culture, and reach.
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Here’s a table of contents for quick access:
- What’s the deal between CeraVe and the NBA?
- The cultural layer: memes, gaming, and Anthony Davis
- What marketers should know
Patrecia Meliana
What's the deal between CeraVe and the NBA?
CeraVe has struck a multiyear partnership with the NBA that makes it the league’s official skincare and haircare partner. The deal includes branded activations at high-visibility events like the Emirates NBA Cup, NBA All-Star Weekend, and Summer League.
@cerave The #1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand is now #1 on the court… as the official skincare and haircare partner of the @NBA 🏀💙#CeraVe #SkincareRoutine
♬ original sound - CeraVe
It’s a full-court press from the L’Oréal-owned brand, which is leaning on basketball’s broad cultural reach to bring skin health into mainstream conversations. That includes in-store product placements, social media campaigns, and even integration into NBA 2K26.
According to CeraVe US General Manager Esther Garcia, the goal isn’t just visibility. It’s access. “Our core mission is to make effective, dermatologist-developed care accessible to everyone,” she said. That includes educational programs, product sampling, and pop-up dermatology screenings under a Jr. NBA initiative called “Care for all.”
The NBA’s VP of Global Business Development, Paolo Pastore, framed it as a lifestyle play. “This partnership reflects the NBA’s commitment to expanding its lifestyle and wellness offerings,” he said, pointing to CeraVe’s credibility and reach.
The cultural layer: memes, gaming, and Anthony Davis
CeraVe isn’t just sponsoring events. It’s embedding itself into basketball’s pop-cultural DNA.
First up: Anthony Davis. The 10-time NBA All-Star was already starring in CeraVe’s “Head of CeraVe” campaign, which blends dry humor with skin barrier science. His involvement now gets an extended runway across the league’s channels and events.
Even more unexpected: CeraVe has teamed up with NBACentel, a popular parody X account known for absurdist, often viral basketball memes. It’s the brand’s first official collab with a satire handle. This marks a pivot into “edutainment” that merges health education with social media-native humor.
This could be a signal that CeraVe’s targeting strategy is expanding beyond Gen Z skincare obsessives to tap meme-literate NBA fans who may not yet think of skin health as a priority.
And in the digital court? NBA 2K26 will include in-game CeraVe integrations. It’s a nod to how seriously the brand is taking its long-term relevance among younger audiences.
What marketers should know
CeraVe’s NBA move isn’t just a sponsorship. It’s a case study in cross-category marketing. Here’s what stands out:
1. Health brands can win with culture, not just science
CeraVe is already known for being dermatologist-backed. But this campaign shows that even health-first brands need cultural cachet. Pairing Anthony Davis with meme accounts and game integrations shows how to talk to fans without lecturing them.
2. It’s not just about reach. It’s about credibility
The NBA partnership lends institutional legitimacy. The “Care for all” initiative strengthens CeraVe’s brand trust. Offering free screenings and education through the Jr. NBA aligns with its health-first ethos in a community-centered way.
3. Edutainment is no longer optional
NBACentel’s involvement hints at where the market is headed: education dressed in humor, bite-sized content, and social-native formats. Brands that skip the “fun” layer risk missing younger audiences entirely.
4. Gaming and sports are now health marketing channels
CeraVe showing up in NBA 2K26 proves a larger point. Digital environments are real marketing arenas. For B2B marketers in health, wellness, and CPG, this opens up avenues for brand immersion and community interaction.
As brands across industries look to blend pop culture with public health, CeraVe’s NBA play shows what that can look like at scale: athlete storytelling, meme collabs, youth education, and digital placement all wrapped into a strategic partnership.
For marketers, the key takeaway is simple. Your next audience may not be watching ads. They might be watching Summer League, playing 2K, or scrolling through parody posts. Make sure your brand shows up there too.
