An August campaign from Gatorade celebrates the fun of sport and underscores the sports drink’s brand belief that ‘when you play for the love of the game, you get the most out of it’.
The integrated campaign, which runs under the brand’s ongoing ‘Fuel Tomorrow’ brand platform, was created in partnership with agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA and seeks to inspire the next generation to have fun while playing sports.
The marketing initiative emerged after research from the National Alliance for Youth Sports found that a majority of children are quitting sports by age 13 simply because they don’t find it fun anymore.
Dropping from 8 August, the 360-degree campaign spans TV, digital, streaming and linear with a media plan that runs across the Little League World Series, the US Open, the Women’s World Hockey Championships, NCAA Football and the NFL 2022/23 season kick-off.
Spearheaded by a 60-second spot titled ’All For Fun’ and set to the song ‘Back in the Day’ by Ahmad Lewis, the creative stars some of the PepsiCo-owned brand’s younger athlete ambassadors: including San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr, Olympian Sydney McLaughlin, Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl Anthony Towns, plus the first Gatorade ad appearances by.UConn basketball player Paige Bueckers and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Each athlete ambassador recalls when they first fell in love with their game as a child and the associated friendships and sense of camaraderie experienced in those formative sporting years. The ad sees the stars playfully interact with the next generation of athletes as they reflect on their own athletic roots.
The campaign creative seeks to drive viewers to learn more at Gatorade.com/community.
“‘All For Fun’ is a reminder that most began playing sports simply because it was fun, and celebrates the joy of the game,” said Gatorade CMO Kalen Thornton. “We hope this inspires the next generation and reminds others to create positive experiences no matter what game they play. We are beginning to see incredible momentum with our partners, athletes, and communities since launching our equity in sport commitment in February. I’ve been in awe of the way our Gatorade family has come together under the Fuel Tomorrow platform to help provide access to sport and inspire the next generation to play.”
The campaign was created for a Gatorade marcoms team led by Chief Marketing Officer Kalen Thornton, Head of Consumer Engagement Brandi Ray, Director of Marketing Nick Lopezzo, Brand Campaign Manager Forrest Johnson, Gatorade Sports Senior Marketing Manager Keri Lockett, Gatorade Sports Marketing Manager Kyle Grote, Gatorade Sports Marketing Associate Manager Connor Wudrick, plus APR Cost Consultants Sharon Groh and Sheila Flaherty.
It as conceived and developed by a team at agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA where the team included ECD Caleb Jensen, Group Creative Director Mark Peters, Senior Art Director Dan Hales, Senior Copywriter Stew Tribe, Chief Design Officer Bruno Regalo, Associate Digital Design Director Thiago Matsunaga, Senior Project Manager Alice Pavlisko, Craft Production Manager Alessandra Horn, Director of Production Guia Lacomin, Content Producer Claire Allman, Art Producer Karly Dewees, Associate Producer Linnea Goodman, Managing Director Jerico Cabaysa, Senior Brand Director Robyn Morris, Brand Supervisor Audrey Sigel, Brand Executive Kayla Martinez, Executive Strategy Director Scott Macmaster, Strategy Director Martin Ramos, Integrated Strategy Director David Heiser, Senior Brand Strategist Sheida Karami, Junior Strategist Trés Jones, Head Of Connections Albert Kim, Associate Director Of Connections Planning Kevin Bautista, Director Of Business Affairs Robin Rossi, Associate Director Of Business Affairs Jennifer Anaya, Junior Business Affairs Manager Annabel Turrado, Director Of Traffic Operations Dessiah Davis and Senior Traffic Operations Manager Judy Brill.
The media agency was OMD.
Production was handled by Radical Media with Director Dave Meyers, President Dustin Callif, SVP Jim Bouvet, Executive Producer Frank Scherma, Head Of Production Cathy Dunn, Line Producers Dave Bernstein and Colin Moran, Production Supervisor Kristi Fiore, DP Scott Cunningham, Production Designer Mark Snelgrove, Stylist Courtney Stern and Photographer Dominic Disaia.
Editorial was by Cabin, colour by Company3, sound design by Beacon Street Studios, with VFX/Finishing run by Shape + Light and footage research from Stalkr.
Comment
This campaign understands that players and fans are too easily obsessed by the intense and ultra-competitive side of sport and seeks to remind viewers that fun should still be the foundation of sport.
It continues the brand’s Fuel Tomorrow platform which launched in February and aims to encourage and enable greater access to sports facilities and community programs and address the core issue that keeps young athletes from continuing their pursuit of sports.
Gatorade certainly won’t be happy that this burst of marketing investment rolled out days ahead of the announcement that flagship endorser and San Diego Padres star shortstop Tatis Jr had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug leading to an 80-game MLB suspension.
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