Download Rough Draft “A jumpstart without the jitters" says, Kevin Durant in his

Rough Draft
“A jumpstart without the jitters" says, Kevin Durant in his recent commercial for
Gatorade the "G Series”. Gatorade has been changing the world of sports icons and sports drinks
since its birth in 1965 out of the University of Florida. They have made it a priority to only
recruit the best athletes around the world to pose for their products. Gatorade’s impressive list of
sponsored athletes includes Dwayne Wade, Usain Bolt, and Serena Williams. Gatorade uses
rhetoric as a tool to persuade aspiring athletes all over the world to use their product by
promoting images that are appealing to most; such as professionals dominating in sports while
using the products they produce. Just the hope of becoming a better athlete is what inspires
people to drive to supermarkets and spend money on their goods that in no way can make you
more athletic. This is a prime example of how the art of persuasion can turn something like a
sports drink into a billion dollar industry.
Just like any other business in the world, Gatorade's primary objective is to sell their
products which in turn will make money for their company. With their main product being sports
drinks, it is a safe assumption to think that they will advertise something having to do with
sports. Gatorade does this very well by showing vivid images of athletes working hard with only
one way to replenish themselves to do more. The message that they are trying to portray is that if
you are going to try to be an athlete like the people in their commercials, you need to work like
them and stay hydrated like them. Along with every bottle of Gatorade the company sells, they
also sell a message that says now you can work and play like a pro. For most, this is an idea that
is too hard to pass up.
Gatorade does a great job with placing their ads in the right place. What is meant by this
is that wherever the targeted audience is, their ads will also be. Since athletes of all ages is who
they target most, their ads will be at places like professional sporting events, sports websites,
sports sections in newspapers, and even in local gyms and recreation centers. These areas would
be considered hotspots for people who would be interested in a product like Gatorade. Anytime a
professional athlete comes out of play and sits on the bench, you can be sure that there will be a
towel boy waiting to hand him or her a cup or bottle of Gatorade. Even people sitting at home on
their couches can see this is action, and maybe without even knowing it, be convinced that this is
what you drink if you are an athlete.
In some advertisements for Gatorade you may catch the phrase "Clinically proven to
hydrate you better than water". This is a claim that Gatorade has been making for years and still
claims to this day. Although many Gatorade drinkers have not personally tested this claim,
thousands of people around the world will tell you that it is true just from hearing the
commercials over the years. One thing that Gatorade fails to mention during their commercials is
that there are 13 teaspoons of sugar in a 20oz bottle. Having this much sugar in your body can
actually help dehydrate you as opposed to hydrating you like the product says. Even though it is
sugary, Gatorade can still sway people with talk of restoring electrolytes and potassium which to
most is a bunch scientific jabber and something that is in bananas. Yet, it is still enough to
motivate people to not only buy, but put faith in their product so that they will keep coming back.
Although Gatorade is good at persuading with their words, their most effective way to get
people to use their product is the use of their sponsored athletes. There are numerous examples
of Gatorade using these athletes in commercials like the new ones for the "G Series" that use big
name players like Joe Mauer and Kevin Durant. In both of the ads they show the athletes
preparing for their games while drinking a pre-game "jumpstart", Gatorade during the game, and
slurping a post-game protein remedy. This is their way of showing people how to properly use
the products three step process which is also sold in three separate bottles which can get pretty
pricey. The thing to focus on here is how they are trying to sell the idea that you need these three
steps to properly keep yourself hydrated and healthy instead of the traditional way of just
drinking regular Gatorade. This is contradicting the scheme that they have been promoting since
their first bottle was sold. So, now their regular product they have been singing praises about for
so many years is no longer good enough which somehow is scaring people into thinking that they
are not doing enough for their body and decide to buy the expensive three step process. This
chopped and screwy course of action wouldn't have been made possible without the backing of
these national sports icons.
One thing that no one can deny is that Gatorade makes most feel good or even
empowered when using their product. On a psychological level, whether or not Gatorade actually
does make you a better athlete or perform better, it makes its users feel good to be sporting a
product that is used by the best in the world. This is how the millions of dollars in advertisements
has paid off for Gatorade, by creating an image or swagger that says "Gatorade, is it in you?". An
image like this almost makes people feel like they are inferior to others who are using the
product and in turn gets many to purchase and keep purchasing their merchandise. In other
words, when an athlete who does not drink Gatorade sees a slogan like this, they finish the
phrase in their mind saying "well it should be", and for many this is enough to go out and buy it.