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Kalshi Launches Celebrity Ads With Messi and Chalamet to Boost Sports-Betting Audience
@CBSNews reported that Kalshi launched athlete-focused campaigns tied to the NBA Finals and FIFA World Cup. The platform also signed a multi-year deal with actor Timothée Chalamet.
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Kalshi released a series of celebrity advertisements featuring athletes ahead of the NBA Finals and the FIFA World Cup. The trading platform, which gained users during the 2024 presidential election, is using the campaigns to expand its sports-betting audience. A recent social-media campaign shows soccer players Lionel Messi, Nicolás Otamendi, and Rodrigo De Paul of the Argentina national team.
Messi joined through a partnership with the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, and all three players have posted the Kalshi logo on their personal accounts. The ads display only the logo and omit the trading interface. Kalshi also launched campaigns with Croatian player Luka Modrić through an agreement with the Croatian Football Association, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and several other international soccer players.
The company recently signed a multi-year deal with actor Timothée Chalamet. A Kalshi spokesperson said the World Cup timing was chosen for its cultural significance and that the goal is to drive brand awareness. "There's a lot of merit in having them post, because they have a lot of fans," the spokesperson told @CBSNews.
Elizabeth "Zab" Johnson, a visual marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said the platform focuses on sports betting and predictions and is capitalizing on current interest. Research she co-authored in 2023 found people are more likely to choose a product endorsed by a celebrity than by a non-celebrity.
"We prioritize information that comes to us from people that we think have valuable input, and celebrities are in that category," Johnson told @CBSNews.
Jared Watson, an associate professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business, said celebrity advertising is an established approach used to establish legitimacy. Kalshi and competitor Polymarket have already signed deals with news outlets, the National Hockey League, and Venmo. A Polymarket spokesperson told @CBSNews that new celebrity partnerships will be announced soon.
