Following on from its recent reformulation and rebrand, Coca-Cola owned Powerade teamed up with NBA star and athlete ambassador Ja Morant on an ambitious US campaign aimed at overhauling its sports drink category competitors – including runaway market leader Gatorade and rising rival BodyArmour.
Powerade’s biggest US marketing burst to date sees the Memphis Grizzlies point guard and 2023 NBA All-Star front a campaign called ‘From Underestimated To Undeniable’. Led by a $10m nationwide TV investment, the campaign’s hero spot, narrated by Tee Morant, chronicles Morant‘s challenging journey from little-known high school recruit to NBA super star (and seeks to build an underlying synergy between the player and the brand).
The brand team believe that Morant is ‘the perfect face’ for Powerade as he was underestimated early on in his career (an unranked high-school recruit with only two college offers) and used that as motivation to become one of the NBA’s best.
As the creative copy states: “As an overlooked high school athlete, he put in more time and effort to separate from the pack. Whether you’re at practice or playing in the big game, Powerade is committed to hydrating athletes every step of the way.”
The campaign, created by David New York and Ogilvy New York (as part of WPP’s OpenX), launched across Powerade and Morant’s social channels from 1 March before its debuted on air via a national TV spot premiering on TruTV on March 14 to leverage spiking hoops interest around NCAA March Madness. This is followed by supporting TV spots airing across TNT, TBS and CBS and streaming on digital platforms such as NCAA March Madness Live, Xbox, Roku and Twitch.
The own channel and TV work is backed by a social media buy, plus Powerade Out-Of-Home media and Hispanic-targeted radio in key markets across the US.
The hero ‘#MoreElectrolytes: What 50% More Means To Ja Morant’ launch spot rolled out in 60-, 30- and 15-second versions across social media from 1 March.
“Powerade is a dynamic brand with a deep history, but it was time to evolve our game,“ explained Bodyarmor Chief Marketing Officer Matt Dzamba. “This campaign is part of a broader strategy from the brand that you’ll see continue to roll out in phases. The first phase was focused on reformulating our product … The [second] is reinvesting in the brand, and we’re doing that through the launch of this campaign. We’re pumped up for what lies ahead and there’s no doubt that Powerade will be a force to be reckoned with and a relentless competitor going forward, as showcased by [Morant] every time he takes the court.“
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Morant becomes Powerade’s first new athlete endorser since the brand worked with fellow NBA star Damian Lillard more than five years ago – which seems like an age for a sports drink.
Rival PepsiCo’s Gatorade (which is an official sponsor of all four of the USA’s so called Big 4 sports leagues – MLB, NBA & WNBA, NFL, NHL) dominates the US sports drinks category with a two thirds share, followed by rising brand BodyArmour and Powerade (according to the latest Euromonitor and Nielsen data).
After being a long-time minority shareholder, 2021 saw Coca-Cola buy a controlling stake in BodyArmor and then in early 2023 chose to give the Bodyarmor team responsibility for the Powerade brand in North America with the unanimous goal of making Powerade #1. This led to the brand revealed new packaging and a new formula (with 50% more electrolytes than Gatorade Thirst Quencher) rolling out in February.
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