G Whiz: Wife Of Gatorade Inventor Unhappy With New Branding
Gatorade is "re-christening its product simply as 'G' -- a bold move that has angered the family of the man credited with inventing the legendary beverage," according to a front-page piece by Ben Volin of the PALM BEACH POST. Mary Cade, the widow of Gatorade inventor Dr. Robert Cade, said, "We're mad about it, if you want to know the truth. I don't think I talked to anybody that wasn't upset about it." Cade "wonders how someone will spot their favorite sports drink in a store." Cade: "I said, 'How are people going to find it on the shelf?' Why do we need to change this? Why change something that is a success?" A Gatorade official said, "It's not a name change. It's still going to be called Gatorade. It's just a design change on the bottle." Cade said that at a meeting in November in Tampa for the Gatorade Trust, which included family members and shareholders of the five scientists credited with inventing the drink, marketing reps "tried to sell everyone on the 'G' marketing strategy." Cade: "'It's 'Good.' ... It's 'Glorious.' ... It's 'Grand.' It was every 'G' word they could think of, except 'Gatorade.'" Volin notes of the 576 people who responded to a poll on CNBC.com, 64% said that they "didn't like the 'G' idea." Cade said that Gatorade "assured her that some bottles with 'Gatorade' labels will be displayed prominently for now, but they'll eventually be phased out." Cade said that the company "plans to return the Gatorade name if the new approach isn't successful" (PALM BEACH POST, 1/15).
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