“We found that the NBA could give us access to a very diverse, engaged fandom — particularly men and particularly people of color — [and we wanted to] educate them on the importance of skin and scalp health,” said Esther Garcia, gm at CeraVe U.S.

According to a Fan Score report from Playfly Sports and Vision Insights, the NBA has the youngest and most diverse fan base among the four major U.S. sports leagues, surpassing the NFL, MLB and NHL. The report found that, during the 2022–2023 season, 56% of NBA fans were under 44 years old and 40% identified as non-white.

Informed by the insight that one in five Americans is struggling with dandruff (Nielsen 2019 vs. 2020, P&G Dandruff Study), the brand tapped Carmelo “Melo” Anthony as its new “Head Coach.” Anthony played 19 seasons in the NBA and is a 10-time NBA All-Star. He retired from the NBA in May 2023 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025. He has 7.8 million Instagram followers.

“A huge, core part of CeraVe’s audience is young, teen boys and Gen-Z men, and the people they look up to are athletes,” said Cha Spruce, an executive creative director at Ogilvy.

“People don’t really understand how important it is that you have a healthy scalp when it comes to dandruff. So, as we’ve done many times before, we wanted to educate on that and take the stigma out of dandruff,” Garcia said. “We thought [this campaign] was a perfect platform to drive education in a fun way, and [we were] looking for someone who could embody that message, alongside our dermatologists, in a fun and unexpected way.”

The campaign plays on the gestures and fashion statements that contributed to Anthony’s legend status. The campaign, officially dubbed “Head Coach,” was created by WPP Onefluence, led by Ogilvy PR.

Spruce explained its origins: “Hoodie Melo was this era where Carmelo was really focused and locked in on his game during his tenure with the Knicks. It’s legendary in basketball culture. So, we thought, ‘What if we started a rumor that he was hiding his head because he had dandruff?’ So, that’s exactly how we’re going to kick off the campaign: bringing back that lore and that legend of Hoodie Melo, and we’ve done it in some cool ways.”

Though the campaign officially launched on Wednesday, CeraVe teased the campaign for about a week beforehand. On May 8, on the Instagram account @thepeoplegallery_ (1.1 million followers), Anthony appeared in a video wearing a hoodie featuring a picture of himself wearing a hoodie. When asked in the video if he’s returning — with the implication being: to basketball — Anthony replies, “We’re cooking something.” The post is marked as an #ad, though viewers could not be sure for what.

Also on May 8, the Instagram account @leaguefits (1 million followers) spotlighted Anthony, alongside NBA players Isaiah Hartenstein (OKC Thunder) and Jose Alvarado (NY Knicks), wearing the aforementioned Hoodie Melo hoodie — this time, with the included CeraVe logo showing — in a post also tagged #ad. The caption reads: “hoodie melo inception. the @cerave logo is throwing me though. #ad.” Alvarado and Hartenstein will reappear in the ongoing campaign, according to a CeraVe spokesperson.

The campaign’s hero spot, which will run across the brand’s social platforms, riffs on one of Carmelo Anthony’s most recognizable on-court signatures. During his NBA career, Anthony famously tapped three fingers to his temple after scoring a three-pointer — a celebratory gesture that became known as “three to the dome.” In CeraVe’s version, Anthony reprises the gesture and catchphrase alongside three practicing dermatologists, nodding to the three essential ceramides found in the brand’s products, which are delivered to the scalp in its hair-care collection.

After the hero spot debuts, the campaign will continue to trickle out with other bits of content throughout the following week. Garcia noted that the brand will seed the product to creators, as well as select consumers.

“Our attention now is so fragmented. You can’t just have one big piece of content and expect everyone to see it,” Spruce said, explaining that the approach is to create “little fires everywhere.”

“Our big idea is ‘Head Coach of heads.’ But how do I make sure you see that? If we put up our phones, we have different algorithms. That means I needed to create different content.”