Gatorade on Thursday "hit it out of the park" with its
farewell 90-second ad for Yankees SS Derek Jeter, according to Michael McCarthy of ADWEEK. The ad shows Jeter "surprising fans outside Yankee Stadium" as Frank Sinatra's "My Way" plays in the background. Jeter "wrote some of the copy," and even "suggested the ... song that serves as the soundtrack" for the ad from TBWA\Chiat\Day, L.A.
Gatorade Senior Dir of Consumer Engagement Molly Carter said that Jeter "suggested a spot showing him thanking Yankee fans." Besides the ad campaign,
Gatorade will "outfit the Yankees dugout with customized cups, coolers and towels featuring Jeter's No. 2 in place of the
Gatorade 'G'" during their Sept. 22 game against the Orioles (
ADWEEK.com, 9/18). In N.Y., Augustine & McCarron note the ad shows Jeter "roll past a newsstand ... in his chauffeured car before asking the driver to stop and let Jeter walk the rest of the way up River Avenue to Yankee Stadium." Jeter: “It was sort of a way to thank (the fans) for what they’ve meant to me.” He added, “It was a fun experience. It didn’t take long -- I was out there for about 30 minutes" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/19). Jeter said of the spot, "It was an opportunity, I felt deservedly, to thank people, which I've been consistent with every time I spoke, how much the fans have meant to me in my career. So it's sort of a way to thank them for what they've meant to me" (
NEWSDAY, 9/19). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER noted the video has "received more than 1.9 million views since hitting YouTube Thursday." It will "start airing on TV Saturday on YES Network and Fox." Print ads "will follow" in the N.Y. Daily News and SI, with Jeter "writing a letter addressed to New York as part of the campaign" (
HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/18).
AN AD 2 REMEMBER: SNY's Adam Schein said the ad is the "single greatest commercial I've ever seen" and noted he "got the chills watching it." Schein added, "The commercial is amazing. ... He's everything that's right with sports. He's everything that's right with baseball, and everyone's acknowledging him and paying their respects and it’s great" ("Loud Mouths," SNY, 9/18). ABC's Lara Spencer called the ad "beautiful" and said with so much "negativity right now in sports and in the news this week, it's really such a pleasure to highlight an athlete doing something positive" ("GMA," ABC, 9/19). NBC's Al Roker noted the ad is "making grown adults cry" ("Today," NBC, 9/19).
A SOUR ENDING: SNY's Chris Carlin said his problem with the ad is not just that Jeter "is doing commercials, it's that this has never been what Derek Jeter has been about." Carlin: "He frankly is being a complete fraud right now. ... In commercials, you have to suspend a little bit of belief. This is suspending all reality. Derek Jeter getting out of his car service saying, 'You know what, I'm going to walk to work today. I'm going to walk in Stan's Bowling Alley and hang out with those guys.' They said, 'We've been waiting for you to show up since 1998.' 'Well, you didn’t invite me.' No, Gatorade wasn't paying me an absolute ton of cash to show up and hang out, otherwise I wouldn't be caught dead in here and I didn't even know this place existed. What a complete and utter joke!" ("Loud Mouths," SNY, 9/18).
