Gatorade plugs new Gatorlyte as ‘rapid rehydration’ in ad with Damian Lillard

Gatorade is calling on NBA star Damian Lillard and boxer Ryan Garcia to push its new Gatorlyte version as the PepsiCo brand continues to experiment with new varieties in the face of spirited competition in the sports drink category. The two athletes appear in a new ad from TBWA\Chiat\Day that marks the start of a new campaign called “All G,” which emphasizes Gatorade’s growing product line. The spot shows longtime Gatorade endorser Lillard boxing with lightweight boxer Ryan Garcia, who signed with Gatorade in 2021. The boxing match with its short breaks is meant to show how quickly Gatorlyte can rehydrate athletes—which the spot underscores with the phrase “rapid rehydration.” The ad will run during the NBA and NHL playoffs. Gatorlyte is marketed as a rehydration drink that is advertised as being lower in sugar and containing an electrolyte formula blend that aids rehydration faster than the brand’s other products. Gatorlyte was scheduled to launch in February 2021 but was delayed after a lawsuit was filed against the product by Mexico-based pharmaceutical company Grupo Pisa, which alleged that that Gatorade imitated the appearance of Pisa's sports drink brand Electrolit to draw customers to its Gatorlyte drink, according to Reuters. The case was settled in March after the brand struck a confidential deal with Electrolit, according to Bloomberg Law. Gatorlyte was in stores by May 2021. Grupo Pisa gained almost a 1% dollar share of the U.S. sports drink market for the year ending June 14, 2020, according to Beverage Digest. Gatorade’s new ad mainly plugs Gatorlyte, but the new “All G'' tagline is introduced at the end as various products are shown. These include the Gatorade Fit electrolyte drink that the brand advertises as having no added sugar or coloring, along with G Zero and G Zero Protein that includes 10 grams of protein. Gatorade is still the sports drink market leader by a long shot holding just over a 66% dollar share in 2021, according to Beverage Digest. But it has been fending off aggressive marketing from BodyArmor, which was recently purchased by Coca-Cola Co. This campaign’s focus on the brand’s variety of products comes as people are searching for “all kinds of options” when it comes to sports drinks, such as natural sugars or varying electrolyte levels, said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, which covers the non-alcoholic beverage industry. The brand released Gatorade Zero in 2018. Other new products include Juiced, which targets younger consumers.

Gatorade plugs new Gatorlyte as ‘rapid rehydration’ in ad with Damian Lillard

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