Unapologetic Referees

Blue Diamond Almonds is back as the Official Snack of the Big Ten, and this Football Season, they’re not holding back. Teaming up with creative AOR McKinney — and agency partners Spark Foundry, Access the Agency, Inspira, Drake Cooper and Twelve Thirty — the brand is "unapologetically" calling penalties on bland snacks and spreads all season long at tailgates, watch parties, stadiums and online.

To help throw these penalty flags, Blue Diamond Almonds tapped former Big Ten players and Bussin’ with the Boys hosts Taylor Lewan (a Michigan alum) and Will Compton (a Nebraska alum) to suit up as “Unapologetic Referees” on September 20 for the Michigan v. Nebraska game aka the "Bussin' Bowl." There, the boys will inspect, reward and roast fans’ game day spreads. Tailgate attendees can also engage with Blue Diamond Almonds’ giant life-size almond on wheels, the Nutty Cruiser™, and sample the latest flavors of Blue Diamond Almonds.

Leading up to the Bussin’ Bowl, the duo are teeing up the showdown by roasting their own producers’ tailgate spreads on social media. McKinney is also amplifying the rollout with digital content on TikTok and Meta through November 30 (see HERE and HERE), while the boys will continue posting videos for Blue Diamond Almonds throughout the season. Athletes and ads are nothing new, but this campaign stands out with live activations and authentic content — the boys are constantly roasting each other on the podcast, so roasting each others’ (and fan) snack spreads will make perfect sense to their audience.

This campaign challenges the counter-intuitive status quo of eating unhealthy food while watching athletes compete and highlights the alternative: a flavorful, healthy and satisfying game day snack. Available in 20+ flavors, Blue Diamond Almonds pack a bold crunch and six grams of protein per serving, plus fiber and magnesium.

The brand will keep the Official Snack of the Big Ten partnership going throughout the football season with branded activations at the Discover® Big Ten Football Championship Game in December, along with the Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments in March. Blue Diamond Almonds has also expanded this year's partnership into retail with in-store signage encouraging shoppers to "Fuel Up and Go Long" with their almond products. This campaign builds on McKinney’s earlier Big Ten Basketball campaign, the “Flavor Fanatics” promotion featuring custom packages for Big Ten superfans like Spicy Dill Pickle, Chili ‘N Lime, and Habanero BBQ throughout the Big Ten basketball regular season, Big Ten tournament, and March Madness tournament.