In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, Michael Jordan dominated not only US sport but also US advertising – the Chicago Bulls number 23 endorsed brands as diverse as Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Hanes, McDonald’s and Wheaties, as well as the two companies he became almost synonymous with in Nike and Gatorade.
Gatorade launched its most famous Jordan commercial, the iconic ‘Be Like Mike’ in 1991 and the tagline became a common consumer mantra all over the country.
In 2015 the sports drink giant aired a digitally re-mastered version of the original commercial (see case study).
In 2020 the brand rolled out a new version of the promo which, whilst featuring Jordan and his trophy-laden past, looks towards the future of the game and includes footage of the next generation of hoops stars – both male and female.
The spot was developed during lockdown from available, pre-existing footage and sought to leverage the stratospheric interest in ESPN’s Jordan-era Chicago Bulls docu-series ‘The Last Dance’.
The updated ‘Be Like Mike’ commercial features young NBA stars Jayson Tatum and next big thing Zion Williamson, as well as WNBA superstar Elena Delle Donne and, of course, Michael Jordan.
The refreshed spot, which debuted on ESPN during ‘The Last Dance’, aired on social and digital platforms (including Gatorade’s Twitter handle) on Sunday ahead of Episodes 5 and 6 of The Last Dance and was supported by a new bottle emoji for the #BeLikeMike hashtag.
We wanted to #BeLikeMike then.
We want to #BeLikeMike now.
We want to #BeLikeMike forever.⚡️@ZionWilliamson @De11eDonne @JayTatum0 pic.twitter.com/BzBb0PTbz1— Gatorade (@Gatorade) May 2, 2020
Williamson commented: “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league and having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had and continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to.”
Michael Jordan himself added: “Zion’s incredible determination, character and play are inspiring. He’s an essential part of the new talent that will help lead the brand into the future. He told us he would ‘shock the world,’ and asked us to believe him. We do.”
Outcome:
The spot launched on the sports drink brand’s social channels ahead of its on-air ESPN debut and generated 20k plus views in those first 24 hours and within a week had generated more than 100k social views as well as reaching an audience of 6m+ per episode on ESPN.
Comment:
A smart move from a timing and numbers point of view as ‘The Last Dance’ broke ESPN non live sport viewing figures with an average audience of 6m for its five episodes and Zion’s arrival in the league looks to usher in the next NBA super star.
Add to Gatorade to the list of smart sports related brands – others include Facebook, Reece’s and State Farm (see case study) leveraging the success of ‘The Last Dance’.
Links:
Gatorade
https://www.youtube.com/user/GatoradeUK
https://twitter.com/gatoradeuk
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.