• by Les Luchter , March 11, 2026

Actress Katherine Heigl has been openly talking about female bladder leaks in ads for Poise pads since December 2024, and now football great Deion Sanders is doing the same for male bladder leaks in ads for fellow Kimberly-Clark brand Depend protection guards.

A Depend spokesperson assures Marketing Daily that the two campaigns have nothing to do with each other, and that the Pro Football Hall of Famer, aka “Coach Prime,” has teamed up with the brand “based uniquely on his personal experience as a bladder cancer survivor.”

There’s also one key difference between the two campaigns. While Heigl has taken a humorous approach to bladder leaks, Coach Prime couldn’t be more serious, likely because of the cancer connection.

Sanders first went public about his use of Depend last year, calling the brand “critical to both his recovery and everyday life as he got back to being active and returning to his daily activities,” according to the spokesperson,  who said the acknowledgment sparked “a powerful cultural shift, removing the stigma around bladder leakage and empowering millions of people to live boldly, confidently, and without compromise.”

Now come Sanders’ first commercials for the brand.

“I used to think that nothing can stop me,” Sanders says in this :30 spot created by SMAC Entertainment. “Then, bladder cancer and leaks showed up, an opponent I could not run, outsmart or outswagger. But I knew I had to stay in the game.” 

“Strong people don't let anything take them out of the game,” he says in another :30.

While men of all ages experience bladder leaks, the spots are mainly targeted to the 45+ demographic and running on TV, connected TV, YouTube and social (Meta, Reddit). The campaign will continue for the foreseeable future, the spokesperson says.

The effort’s goal, they said, is to “shine a light on a simple but transformative truth:Taking control of your health is not a weakness -- it’s a strength. For years, bladder leakage has been a challenge people faced quietly – often with shame, fear, or reluctance to talk openly about it.”