In sports, we often say that winning is the best foundation to launch a publicity program. I think we heard Adidas scream that strategy after last weekend in London.

It took fewer than two world-record hours for the top men to complete the 2026 London Marathon, but mere minutes for pre-orders of the specialty shoes they wore to sell out. Adidas released a small number of those shoes for $500 per pair. Savvy fans grabbed them in minutes. They’re now selling for up to $3,000 on the resale market.

Adidas could have flooded the zone and fully released the shoe to the public after the race. It bet on exclusivity, however, which boosted curiosity and commerce-conscious consumers and cranked publicity momentum sky-high.

If the shoes the marathoners wore—Adidas’ Pro Evo 3s—were widely available, would their limited release be as valuable and create the kind of publicity that’s followed the runners and their shoes during the past week? Doubtful.

Flood the field and frustrate fans

On the other end of the commercial spectrum is oversaturation. Welcome to the likely NCAA basketball tournament expansion.

If the NCAA men’s and women’s events expand to eleventy-hundred teams (they’re rumored to expand to 76 from 68), are the tournaments as compelling to fans as they’ve been the last 30-40 years?

Fans moaned about the lack of Cinderellas at the 2026 men’s tournament and few nailbiters until at least the Elite Eight in the women’s. If the tournaments expand, will anyone care to watch early-round games, or will expansion just goose the number of Power 4 schools in the field?

CBS Sports’ David Cobb detailed who he thinks are winners and losers in tournament expansion. For this newsletter, we return to oversaturation and its effects on publicity. 

Purposeful publicity is built on tension. The tension in London was, “Will light-as-paper shoes hold up through a marathon?”

I’m not a runner, but I was wowed by Kenyan Sebastian Sawe, who finished the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. Same with runner-up Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia who finished 11 seconds behind, also a record. Oh, and it was Kejelcha’s FIRST marathon. (Hey, I hold my gym’s plank time record, so I guess that’s something …) Tigst Assefa also set a women’s world record with a 2:15.41 race.

The Adidas shoe design the top finishers wore in London, which reportedly weighs half of a typical running shoe, is scheduled for an expansive rollout later this year. For now, its limited release reminds us of early-day iPhones that sold in an hour.

Flood the fields or maintain what made it famous?

When the NCAA unleashes eight more teams to its basketball tournament brackets, we’re likely to see more power conference teams with few spots for mid-low-major Cinderellas.

Adidas scored its publicity win because it bet on equipment to boost performance, then released a limited number of its finish-line shoes to capitalize on the moment. The NCAA, on the other hand, looks to flood the fields. People already treat the “First Four” as an exhibition. Look for fringe fans who helped make the tournament special to dismiss new Power Postseason warmup games, too.

PR to ponder: If the product is everywhere, the story loses its luster. Adidas gets this. NCAA leadership apparently doesn't.

P.S. Speaking of the NCAA, it keeps paying for its sins. This week, it cut a check for $2-plus million to retroactively pay tennis players who sued over rules that prevented them from accepting professional tournament money before playing in college. The same suit forced the NCAA to change its rules regarding eligibility and outside prize money.

This, during a week we learned that at least four college programs (the number rose as I wrote this) are cutting tennis programs. It’s a separate issue, but still disappointing as college tennis has been a training ground for several professionals.

SIDEeffect PR: Athletes’ voices matter. Publicizing your fight moves the needle.

©2026 Gail Sideman; gpublicity.com; SIDEbar

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