Gatorade Celebrates 50 Years of Highlights

Gatorade is celebrating its 50th anniversary classic sports highlights.

There is perhaps no brand more synonymous with sports than Gatorade. For the last half-century, Gatorade has been a staple of baseball dugouts and football sidelines around the world. It’s rather fitting that the brand chose to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a highlight reel of timeless moments in sports history.

The 60-second video ad counts up from one to 50, tying each number to a moment from the last five decades in sports history. From Derek Jeter’s No. 2 jersey to the San Francisco 49ers dumping Gatorade on Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Walsh, each moment resonates well with its chosen number.

The spot accomplishes something that Gatorade has always excelled at – emphasizing the beverage’s close relationship to athletic competition. Gatorade was invented in 1965, with the specific purpose of better hydrating athletes. The brand is smart to keep that narrative front and center.

I always appreciate when a campaign has a logical through-line from product to pitch. Superstar athletes promote all sorts of products, but it’s more impactful when the product is something they legitimately use on a daily basis.

My one gripe with this spot is that – from start to finish – Florida Gators football players count along with the series of highlights. By the time they got to 15, I was more than ready for that audio to fade out. By the time they reached 50, I was practically screaming, “Enough already!”

That one complaint aside, Gatorade’s 50th anniversary ad is unquestionably a success. I still won’t likely be drinking one anytime soon (I don’t need as much sugar as football players do…), but how many people really read the labels anyway? Not to mention that Gatorade has never passed my lips.

Howard Davidson Arlington MA

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