USWNT F Mallory Pugh and former team member Mia Hamm star in a new Gatorade ad coinciding with the start of the Women's World Cup, according to John Meyer of the DENVER POST. The ad, which runs just shy of three minutes, "begins with a flashback of sorts with Hamm in a stadium tunnel about to take the field, holding the hand of a girl who looks like a younger Pugh." It then shows the actress playing Pugh "exploring a soccer fantasy land, kicking and dribbling while Hamm offers voice-over advice as the sage mentor." The actual Pugh then comes on screen, followed "by a shot of her in a tunnel supposedly before a game and telling a young girl, 'Every day is your day when you come out to play'" (DENVERPOST.com, 6/4).
STAR TURN: The 21-year-old Pugh will be making her World Cup debut this year, but it is clear that many people expect her to be a breakout star of the tournament. Bleacher Report profiled her under the header, "Mallory Pugh Is Ready For Her Magic Hour," while the Washington Post went with, "Rising U.S. Star Mallory Pugh is Ready For The World Cup Stage" and Denver-based 5280 magazine went with, "Mallory Pugh Is A World Cup Away From Stardom" (THE DAILY).
