Jennifer Lopez is starring in a new campaign from Bodyarmor Lyte that the brand says is the largest in its history.

The Coca-Cola owned sports drink brand will be spending more than $10 million on media behind the Lopez campaign, known as “Choose More,” said Federico Muyshondt, CEO of Bodyarmor Sports Nutrition. The campaign is meant to introduce more consumers to Bodyarmor, a brand with relatively low recognition beyond athletes. Bodyarmor Lyte is a low-calorie version of the sports drink that has no added sugars or artificial sweeteners that has been positioned to have crossover appeal beyond sports enthusiasts.

The ad—which plugs Lyte as “more than a sports drink”—shows Lopez awakening at 4:45 a.m., downing a bottle of Bodyarmour Lyte, then taking an intense pre-dawn run on the beach.

“I would say Bodyarmor is the biggest brand in beverage that so few people know of,” Muyshondt said. “We did $1.8 billion in retail sales yet we only have a 14% level of awareness, so the opportunity is massive. This is an opportunity to reach a lot of people and tell them who we are and what we’re about.”

Bodyarmor earlier this month announced that its Powerade sibling brand would also be embarking on its biggest year ever, with plans to increase ad spending by 60%.

But Powerade's immediate plans are unclear now that the star of its new ad, Ja Morant, has been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies for disciplinary issues, and news articles have detailed several alleged violent encounters involving Morant. The brand took Morant ads off its website and social media properties last week but has not commented on the situation. Muyshondt through a spokesperson declined to address questions about Morant.

Five-year goal

Bodyarmor had measured-media spending of $16 million in 2022 and $7 million in 2021, according to Vivvix.

Muyshondt said Bodyarmor’s goal is to take over the No. 1 spot in sports drinks from Gatorade, with help from Powerade, which recently came under its watch. “We think we can make that happen in five years,” he said.

Pepsi's Gatorade family commanded a 70.3% volume share and 67.1% dollar share in sports drinks, according to nine-month Beverage Digest figures from November. Coca-Cola’s Powerade and Bodyarmor combined for 26.5% volume share and 27.3% dollar share.

Appeal beyond sports

Lopez presents Bodyarmor with a wide reach. “Jennifer Lopez is iconic. She transcends demographics, psychographics, age groups—you name it,” Muyshondt said. “She’ll allow Bodyarmor Lyte to speak to new audiences.” 

Lyte was introduced in 2017. It put singer Carrie Underwood in a campaign in early 2021, marking the brand's first move beyond athletes. “Lyte is rooted in sports but it expands into fitness, it expands into health and it expands into wellness,” Muyshondt said.

Lopez has been associated with Bodyarmor since late 2021. She and Underwoood are the brand's only non-athlete spokespeople.

“Every day you get to choose: Do I want more? Can I grow stronger? Can I push myself harder? Can I get better?” Lopez narrates in the ad.

A Spanish-language version of the spot, also narrated by Lopez, will also run, becoming the first Bodyarmor ad to run in multiple languages. The ad began as an in-house effort but evolved with collaboration from Lopez’s team, Muyshondt said. It was directed by Dave Meyers of Radical Media.

The ad is set to make its TV debut this week on “The Bachelor.” The buy includes cable and network TV, streaming TV, social media and Spotify.

The new campaign comes about a month after Lopez made a cameo appearance in a Dunkin' Super Bowl ad starring her husband, Ben Affleck.