I love college football. It doesn’t matter who is playing – it always seems easy to get into a game even if you have no affiliation with either school.
I love the yelling and screaming of the fans and the coaches. The passion and dedication of the players. Catching the crazy plays live that make it to ESPN’s top 10 list.
It takes a lot to divert my attention away from a game, especially when it comes to the BCS bowl games. So imagine my own surprise when I start Googling “G and S-VC Inc” on my phone smack dab in the middle of a sports bar full of fans screaming at the large projector during the Rose Bowl.
A commercial aired during the bowl games and other NFL playoff games that had me asking, “What’s with the G?” You’ve probably seen it. Little Wayne doing the voice over with video panning across some of today’s most incredible athletes. The spot ends on a large “G”. No more info provided other than a tiny S-VC Inc. copyright at the bottom.
[youtube SQ976VSrw_0]
I have to admit that I really hated the commercial. The idea of creating a mysterious ad spot with no clues was intriguing and the script featured poignant copy, but the quality of the camera work, the music selection and the inability to really understand what the heck Little Wayne was saying all left me wondering who could have executed such a poor quality piece.
Come to find out from my Google search mid-game, it was Gatorade (S-VC Inc. didn’t return a ton of information, but from what I can tell so far, they are a PepsiCo subsidiary…maybe the ad features only that at the end to help enforce this viral aspect of the video and the mystery into who created it).
So back to Gatorade… really? What happened to their chilling, awe-inspiring commercials featuring the likes of Manning, Wade and Jeter playing the heroes to a background of “O Fortuna”? Even if you’re not fans of those players, the flawless combination of music and video effects gives you chills, pumps you up. Just read some of the comments below the commercial posted on YouTube to hear what people generally think of this spot.
[youtube DIlEv34dKVI]
After doing more research, I came to learn that Pepsico-owned Gatorade is in the midst of rebranding and will be launching new packaging featuring the G with the lightening bolt very soon.
Ok, good for them. They need to rebrand themselves desperately. So much of the market seems to be shifting to Coke’s Powerade and enhanced waters like Vitamin Water. It is probably time they get in the game and try to reclaim their spot in the beverage wars.
I think their intentions with the ad campaign were spot-on. The concept is solid and they understand the need to re-evaluate their customer’s perception of Gatorade. They need to start listening and connecting with their customers by having relevant conversations with them.
I’m just not sure the commercial accomplishes that. The music could have been more impactful. The script could have been better delivered. The video itself could have looked like something better than a mock concept piece. There just could have been a bit more “oomph”. More chills, more spirit, more of that excitement we crave relating to athletes and sports.
One thing is for sure. While I didn’t think the ad was as thrilling as it could have been, I nonetheless took action and searched to find out more in the middle of watching the game. It may have been out of a need to find out who was behind a piece that I felt was poorly executed, but I still searched. I searched in the middle of one of my all time favorite activities and searched a lot more afterwards. And now I’m blogging about it. So in the end, it worked.
Unlike previous Gatorade ads , this one doesn’t outwardly sell a brand or product. This ad attempts to do something different – it focuses on communicating with its audience without blatantly trying to sell something.
The concept is golden – share a compelling story that creates intrigue while refraining from heavily pushing a brand so that your audience and customers feel genuinely interested in taking action to learn more. Find out who your audience is. Listen to them. And when you engage in conversation with them, be sure to connect when, where and how they want to connect with you.
What do you think? Is Gatorade’s new ad campaign on track or does it miss the mark? Leave your opinion in the comments section!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Lacey – Good sleuthwork in uncovering the upcoming Gatorade rebranding. Like you, I thought the commercial lacked…um, well, just about everything. But the fact that the marketing team is trying to create a new feel for the liquid I once drank in droves is IMHO too little, too late. As you mention, Powerade (yuk), VitaminWater, Monsters and other burgeoning vitamin-enriched drinks are stealing market share. Plus, they TASTE better than Gatorade. My wife came home with a Acai-berry-pomogranate Vitamin Water the other day and it kicked ass. Good stuff.
Good post Lacey! AdAge posted similar sentiments a couple days after you posted: http://adage.com/article?article_id=133604
Really any blog post that features commentary about ‘Lil Wayne is worth it in my book – especially when we’re discussing the inability to understand WHAT he’s sayin’.
A sports drink is a sports drink is a sports drink… as long as I am hydrated after 20 miles of endurance walking… I’m set. They will all taste funny to me.