Sports drink brand BodyArmor in a new ad campaign "mocks what it sees as Gatorade’s lack of innovation over the years," according to Jeff Beer of FAST COMPANY. Gatorade has "long used its heritage as a point of pride and athletic bona fides," but in BodyArmor's new ads, Rockets G James Harden, Knicks F Kristaps Porzingis, Angels CF Mike Trout, and WNBA Wings G Skylar Diggins-Smith "equate it with an aging star on the way out." BodyArmor Chair Mike Repole said that the campaign’s "primary aim is to bring attention to the fact that while sports, training, and athletes have changed dramatically over the past few decades, Gatorade’s formula is stuck in the past." The concept of the campaign is "simple, the message clear: BodyArmor is the future, Gatorade is the past." The campaign is a "throwback to the cola war-style taste test and direct competitor call-out model perfected during that era" (FASTCOMPANY.com, 4/18). YAHOO SPORTS' Mike Oz writes people do not normally think of Trout "as a funny guy," but that might "change after people see" his BodyArmor spot. The ad campaign debuted today online and "will be featured on TNT during the NBA playoffs." Trout said, "I had fun with it. To use the stuff we used, was pretty funny and pretty incredible. I had a great time shooting it." Kobe Bryant "owns a stake in BodyArmor and also wrote and co-directed these spots." Trout said, "I had a conversation with Kobe about it and the guys from Body Armor. The stuff behind it, behind the scenes. To get the point across. Like I said, it’s different. To bring humor involved. To see the activities that I did during the spot" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/18).
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! ESPN.com's Darren Rovell noted the ads feature Porzingis "writing a letter to his parents to be delivered by carrier pigeon" and Diggins-Smith "leading a step aerobics class." They also include Harden "entering the arena like a soldier from the renaissance era" and Trout "using a pulsating ab exerciser from the 1970s." Repole said that Bryant "hasn't been afraid to assert himself on the creative side." Repole: "He has done an amazing job. I had one idea and he squashed it in two seconds. I said to myself, 'OK, I'll go back to running the company'" (ESPN.com, 4/18).
