Jalen Brunson has been a New York Knicks superstar for a while now, but this week he stepped into a different spotlight: he started appearing in ads for Just Salad, the fast-casual chain that recently announced he had invested in it.
The campaign is called “Real New Yorkers Know,” and it is built around the idea that Brunson’s fans already knew Just Salad was cool long before anyone else caught on. The Knicks point guard, who was the Finals MVP, is now showing up in a documentary-style CTV ad and on billboards across the city, telling New York that the brand has always been valid.
Brunson’s Role in the Campaign
The ad tells the story from the fans’ point of view. It is designed to play out differently by market. In New York City and Long Island, the outdoor creative features the tagline “Real New Yorkers Know,” a nod to the fans who were paying attention early, presumably to both the Knicks and Just Salad.
In New Jersey and Connecticut, the line is “We Always Knew,” which is meant to give a sense of ownership to fans more broadly who claim both Brunson and the Just Salad brand.
Brunson said he was already a fan of the chain before he invested. “I was already a fan of Just Salad, and being able to build something with a New York brand I genuinely believe in makes this really meaningful to me,” he said in a statement. He also noted that New York fans can tell when something is authentic, and he thinks this campaign captures that.
The Brand’s Long Road
Just Salad was founded in 2006 in New York. Nick Kenner, Just Salad’s founder and CEO, said the brand was doubted for a long time.
“We didn’t get much attention and some people thought we weren’t cool enough,” Kenner said in a statement. “But we kept our heads down and focused on making the product and the experience better every single day. That grit and focus on substance and winning is what aligns us with Jalen; his fans never needed convincing either. This campaign is about those shared values.”
Jen Lally, Just Salad’s chief marketing officer, said the brand has always had believers. “Just Salad fans have believed in this brand since long before we had 125 locations to point to,” she said in a statement. “Jalen’s fans have that same instinct — the pride of recognizing greatness before everyone else caught on. New York is the heart of this campaign, but that feeling of seeing something special early, and knowing you were part of it from the start, is universal.”
The Campaign’s Premise
The campaign is built on a simple premise: the people who love Brunson already loved Just Salad, and they loved it first. The tagline “Real New Yorkers Know” is a nod to those early fans who paid attention to both the Knicks and the salad chain. The “We Always Knew” version in New Jersey and Connecticut is a version of the same idea, extending it to fans who claim both Brunson and the brand.
- The CTV spot is shot to bring the perspective of fans
- The outdoor creative features the tagline “Real New Yorkers Know,” a nod to the fans who were paying attention early, presumably to both the Knicks and Just Salad
- The “We Always Knew” version in New Jersey and Connecticut gives a sense of ownership to fans who claim both Brunson and the brand
The Investment Details
Brunson’s investment in Just Salad was announced earlier this year. As an investor, he is expected to engage with the salad chain’s leadership and culinary teams, visit restaurants and connect with guests, bringing his perspective to the business over time, the company said.
Just Salad operates across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. This year, the chain expected to add 30 units, accelerating growth from the 20 opened in 2025.
What Brunson Says About It
Brunson’s statement is the heart of the campaign. He is not selling the food; he is selling the idea that his fans already knew. He says he was already a fan of the brand, and building something with a New York brand he genuinely believes in makes this really meaningful to him.
He also noted that New York fans can tell when something is authentic, and he thinks this captures that.
The campaign is a direct answer to that history. It is not a statement about how great Just Salad is now; it is a statement about how great Just Salad always was. The tagline “Real New Yorkers Know” is a nod to those early fans who paid attention to both the Knicks and the salad chain. The “We Always Knew” version in New Jersey and Connecticut is a version of the same idea, extending it to fans who claim both Brunson and the brand.
Just Salad has been around since 2006, and it has spent that time building a reputation for substance over spectacle. The “Real New Yorkers Know” campaign is a way of saying that reputation was always there, and the fans who paid attention early were always part of it.
It is a campaign built on a Finals MVP saying his fans already knew Just Salad was cool and that they never needed convincing. That is the kind of story this campaign wanted to tell.
See the video the story is built around at Nation’s Restaurant News.
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