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Duke Cannon bets on Iowa State mascot for March Madness success

Will a unique ad campaign help Duke Cannon score big during March Madness?

By Bob McCullough Mar 19, 2025 4:15 AM

duke cannon iowa state university march madness ad midnight swim packaging — Duke Cannon

March Madness is a bonanza for both basketball fans and bettors, and it’s crunch time for advertisers, too. Given the impressive growth of the men’s grooming market and the captive audience of potential customers watching the NCAA tournament, it’s not surprising that companies like Duke Cannon are trying to get in on the action.

The way they’re doing it is impressively innovative. Mascot antics are always part of the fun at this tournament, and Duke Cannon has built it’s entire March Madness ad campaign around the “anonymous” guy sporting the Iowa State outfit.

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Can Cy the Cardinal keep it clean?

Duke Cannon mascot ad — Duke Cannon

The tag line for the campaign is “Earn Your Clean,” and the ISU mascot’s name is Cy the Cardinal. (The team’s official nickname is the Cyclones, which would be a tough mascot costume for sure.) The dude inside the getup is anonymous, of course, but he definitely works hard to earn his keep, even if he’ll never see any of that long NIL money that many college athletes are raking in these days.

“Duke Cannon helps people who get properly dirty get properly clean, and nobody gets the least amount of recognition during March than college basketball mascots,” says Oliver Perez, the CMO of Duke Cannon Supply Co. “From trampoline dunks to free-throw distractions and halftime shows, all while wearing a heavy, sweat-soaked mascot costume, these guys work hard and deserve to be recognized for being the ultimate hype men.”

The gutbucket blue-collar campaign, which is being billed as the first-ever Un-NIL deal, features an entertaining video, along with social media posts and the usual (and unusual) array of mascot tricks.

Duke Cannon gambles on Iowa State

Duke Cannon soap — Duke Cannon

Part of the gamble for Duke Cannon here is that the success of the campaign will rest to some extent on how successful Iowa State is in the tournament. The Cyclones will go enter the tournament as the #3 seed in the South regional, and they’ll start the action on Thursday against Lipscomb.

On paper that game looks like a mismatch, but the further ISU goes, the more publicity Cy the Cardinal and Duke Cannon will get from this fun, funky campaign. A Final Four appearance for the Hawkeyes feels unlikely, but expect Duke Cannon to clean up on their ad numbers if that actually happens.

Bob McCullough is a freelance author and journalist who has published dozens of novellas and novels, and his journalism has… Read Full Bio

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