Gatorade teamed up with athlete ambassador and US Olympic artistic gymnast Sunisa ‘Suni’ for the latest episode in its #FuelTomorrow campaign with a commercial called ‘Make Your Own Footsteps With Suni Lee’.
Built around the idea that role models create their own paths and created in harness with agency TBWA\Chiat\Day, the spot dropped on 13 June across television, digital and social channels.
The spot opens as Lee fuels up for a session of balance beam practice in her back garden with a bottle of Gatorade Zero, a child’s voiceover says a role model is “someone who shows what’s possible when you believe within”. Then, as the gymnast flips through the air in slow motion, the spot cuts to footage of a child practicing on a homemade beam made from beach chairs before switching back to a formal dismount during a senior competition. Lee sticks the landing with a smile with ad’s the end line ‘What’s inside Suni is inside you’.
The ad, which is set to ‘Life is Good’ by Future (featuring Drake), also seeks to drive viewers online to learn more about how Gatorade is helping millions get into sport at http://gatorade.com/community
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Lee, who won the women’s all-around gold at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, made history in 2021 when she became the first Hmong-American (an ethnic group with roots in Laos, Vietnam and China) to reach the top of the Olympic podium. In doing so she became a particular inspiration for many young girls from the community and from across the country.
Indeed, this spot is part of a wider campaign from the PepsiCo owned sports drink which aims to highlight the accomplishments of athletes from diverse backgrounds and create more opportunities in the sport. The initiative seeks to support aspiring athletes see people like themselves represented at the highest levels of the sport because, as Gatorade says, “If you can see it, you can be it.”
The campaign sees Lee front creative alongside the likes of tennis megastar Serena Williams and Dominican basketball player Hansel Enmanuel.
“It’s really cool to see brands using their platform to amplify diverse role models,” commented Lee. “And then just being featured alongside Serena Williams and Hansel Enmanuel in these commercials is also super cool because they are amazing athletes.”
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