Coca-Cola sports drink brand Powerade teamed up with US Olympic super star Simone Biles to kick off its global Paris 2024 ‘Take A Pause’ marketing with an emotional campaign supporting athletes’ mental and physical health and inspired by how the most decorated gymnast of all time dealt with struggle.
Objective
This campaign, which is part of parent company Coca-Cola’s nearly 100-year Olympic (and then IOC) partnership and its 2024 multi-brand activation programme, sees Powerade set out to drive a healthy conversation among athletes and fans around mental and physical well-being.
Activation
The campaign, which will run in 30 markets, aims to empower athletes to ‘take a pause’ amidst the frantic and pressurized run-up to Olympics and, inspired by life’s challenges and triumphs, the creative takes viewers on an emotional journey alongside Biles as she confronts the pressures and expectations of professional sport.
The Paris 2024 marketing spans TV, social, digital, OOH, on-site experiential activations, field-of-play presence and more. It was created by WPP Open X led by Ogilvy, while production was handled by Somesuch with Director Kim Gehrig with additional input and support from EssenceMediacom, David Miami, VML, AlterEko and Form&Fun.
The marketing burst was spearheaded by a hero film called ‘The Vault’ which dropped on 11 April.
It follows the US star preparing for vault practice against a backdrop of media commentary and scrutiny. It sees Biles tune out the noise and run through her routine in slow-motion, while her voice drowns out the press commentary as the narrative reflects on her decision to ‘take a pause’ – set against scenes from the personal moments in life that matter most – most executing a perfect landing as a youngster looks on from the stands.
Biles celebrates her victories and also for her resilience in the face of adversity as she opens up about facing the challenge of ‘the ‘twisties’ – a mental obstacle faced by many gymnastics – which saw her prioritize her mental health over the quest for gold as the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
In a moment of self-reflection, Biles states: “I felt broken. That’s why I decided to take a pause….I had to prove all the haters wrong that I’m not a quitter. One moment you’re on top of the world, and the next you find yourself gasping for air. Sometimes, taking a pause is the most powerful thing you can do.”
This Games focused launch spot starts Powerade’s multi-channel, multi-phase Olympic activation programme.
This content is fronted by Team Powerade’s international athlete ambassador roster (each of whom are also part of Team Coca-Cola’s international endorser stable) which includes CJ Bott, Harrie Lavreysen, Emma Twigg, Lydia Williams, Alberto Abarza, Mathilde Gros, Harrie Lavreysen and Tyler Wright. Each athlete within the brand’s sponsor stable similarly has their own story about when they’ve taken a pause and come back stronger and these will also roll out globally.
Another strand of the activation include a bespoke, on-site Olympic village activation in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which will offer an environment for physical recovery, respite and innovative virtual visualization practices while also offering a space for mental health conversations.
While the brand will also launch of a limited-edition ‘Powerade Gold’ product: a rage designed specifically for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. The marketers describe the new flavor as featuring ‘a blend of golden fruits formulated to deliver an energizing and refreshing taste’.
“Powerade has always been committed to empowering athletes and we are thrilled to be partnering once again with Simone Biles, someone who has been transparent about how taking a pause is not an act of weakness, but rather an act of courage and power. We’re excited to bring this mindset to the Olympic Games and continue supporting athletes in the pursuit of balancing mental and physical fitness. As a sports drink brand that champions athletes, we are honoured to be partnering with an incredible roster of athletes to share their stories of strength and promote a positive message that transcends any arena. We hope our campaign encourages athletes everywhere to recognise that success and resilience come in many forms that ultimately make us stronger.”
Coca-Cola Senior Director Of Global Creative For Hydration, Sports Hydration And Tea Gui Glezer
“Our goal with this work was to highlight an incredibly meaningful story, shaped as a visual tale full of details and insights. We took a thoughtful approach to ensure we captured Simone Biles’s voice and powerful perspective, given how central it is to the creative idea. This work serves as a reminder of how intentional moments of pause and refocus can empower us.”
WPP Open X (at Ogilvy) Global Creative Network Lead Guillermo Vega
This isn’t the first pre-Olympic campaign to feature Biles: Athleta recently launched its ‘Find Your Movement’ platform – which will evolve around the Games – starring the gymnast amongst its other elite and amateur ambassadors.
This commercial serves as a nudge to viewers that in these challenging times, it is often important to pause before finding a way to push forward.
Indeed, this integrated Paris 2024 campaign is the latest evolution of Powerade’s umbrella ‘Pause Is Power’ platform which launched in 2022 to champion the benefits of taking deliberate pauses as needed to come back stronger.
In business terms, the campaign may help Powerade reinforce brand loyalty in the increasingly competitive sports drink market which is expected to achieve a global valuation of $33bn by 2030 (up from $23bn in 2022).