Tiger Woods learns to focus in Gatorade ad

Here's the first ad in the new "Woods of Wisdom" campaign for Gatorade Tiger from TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles. The animated spot promotes the reformulated Gatorade Tiger Focus drink (which now contains theanine, which aids in concentration) and shows Woods as a kid learning to keep his mind from wandering on the links. He does this with the help of a wise old grizzly bear (who looks and sounds a lot like Woods' late father Earl) and a literal waterfall of Tiger Focus, which the boy eagerly slurps up. Samuel L. Jackson is among the voice talent for the campaign, and funk master Bootsy Collins did the original music. This first spot also has a heavy Nike flavor, as Woods and the bear both sport Nike logos on their caps, and Tiger does the hacky-sack thing with the golf ball at the end—the same trick he made famous in the legendary 1999 Nike commercial.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 9, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (16)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Gatorade, Golf, Nike, Nudd, TBWA, Tiger Woods

What's the shelf life of these golden oldies?

Reruns. They're not particularly appealing when it comes to sitcoms, and they raise eyebrows when they're commercials. I saw two resurrected spots recently that, while good, made me wonder what's up with these clients if they're running ads from agencies they no longer work with. One was for Tabasco, the other for Gatorade. The Gatorade ad, from 2006, has Keith Jackson explaining, in his quintessential staccato delivery, the origins of Gatorade. Thanks, Element 79. The Tabasco ad, from way back in 1998, shows a guy sitting on his front porch, eating pizza doused with the hot sauce. A mosquito bites him, only to explode afterward in a mini-fireball. Thanks, DDB. Now, if only they could get residuals like Seinfeld.

—Posted by Andrew McMains

Published on November 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under DDB, Element 79, Gatorade, McMains, Tabasco

Gatorade takes a leap with 'ball girl' video

Another day, another viral campaign where you have to squint to find the culprit. This time it's Gatorade, whose “Amazing ball girl catch” has gotten a few hundred thousand views on YouTube (although much of the traffic seems to be coming from debunking posts like those on Deadspin and Snopes). I always have mixed feelings on these kinds of videos, especially when they only take off after being revealed as marketing projects. Still, if you know a video is the work of an ad agency—in this case, Chicago’s Element 79—and you still go watch it, they must be doing something right.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on June 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Gatorade, Griner

Behind the scenes: Gatorade’s ‘Big Head’

Been meaning to link to this for a while: Element 79’s great “Big Head” commercial for Gatorade. Here’s some background from Screen magazine on the technical challenges of making the spot. Says a producer: “We were very cognizant of making sure that we didn’t make it creepy.” Unlike, say, the new Burger King spot with the midgets.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on July 13, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Gatorade