German premium casualwear label Brax is racing to reset its marketing playbook after reports that long-time brand ambassadors Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic have separated. For roughly five years the retired football great and the former Grand Slam tennis champion fronted Brax campaigns as a couple, giving the label simultaneous reach across menswear and womenswear audiences. Their polished, family-centric image lent warmth and authenticity that pure product photography rarely delivers.
Because most current Brax assets depict the pair together shop-window lightboxes, large-format city-centre billboards, in-store screens, social creative, and a planned Fall/Winter 2025 launch the company has frozen production and begun removing imagery from public spaces. The Schweinsteiger–Ivanovic agreement, believed to have run through 2027, has been ended early; sunk costs in photography, media, and co-branded capsule work will weigh on near-term budgets.
Industry marketers often call sudden breaks in couple-driven endorsements a “total loss.” Creative, copy, and media plans are built around shared chemistry; cropping one partner out rarely works at scale. Brax must now audit every placement, negotiate takedowns with out-of-home vendors, and refresh point-of-sale visuals before the next seasonal drop.
Company leaders maintain the collaboration still delivered value by rejuvenating awareness among younger and more international shoppers. Data captured, creative learnings, and retail traffic lift remain bankable assets even as the partnership closes. Immediate priorities: protect sell-through on current lines and design a more modular endorsement strategy less exposed to personal-life volatility.
Short-range recovery options include shifting to individual athlete spotlights, amplifying user-generated styling content, and accelerating digital campaigns that emphasise fit, fabric, and performance over celebrity narrative. Carefully curated “archive” social moments cleared for rights could retain goodwill without implying the couple remains active with the brand.
Operationally, Brax must confirm residual image-use rights, document removal or storage of printed materials, and coordinate with municipalities and landlords to replace city-scale installations without penalties. Clear internal guidance and consumer messaging that respects the family’s privacy while reaffirming Brax’s quality credentials can steady sentiment. The broader lesson for marketers: diversify talent rosters, stage content shoots in modular sets, and maintain contingency creative so a relationship change doesn’t cascade into a full campaign write-off.
