Summer officially ends this week, taking with it beach days, barbecues and soon enough, baseball. (Our offices contain Yankees, Mets and Red Sox fans so let’s face it: there is no October for us this year.)
While we fans never like to see our boys of summer put the tarp down on another season, one player in particular has captured our attention, provoking a pensive sigh or even a tear or two (from some) as he finishes out the last days of his tremendous career. I’m talking, of course, about Derek Jeter.
And, from a publicity point of view, no company has benefited from the captain’s pending retirement more than Gatorade has this past week.
In case you haven’t been near a television, a computer, a magazine or a newspaper, Gatorade unveiled a 90-second commercial focused entirely on Jeter’s goodbye to his city and his fans. Shot in black and white and featuring music chosen by the iconic player himself – “My Way” by Frank Sinatra – the spot evokes emotion from the opening scene and has become a leading topic of conversation via almost every media channel available, social or otherwise.
Within 18 hours of being posted on YouTube, the farewell ad had already garnered more than two million views. Days later, the spot appeared on television. Next week, an accompanying print ad, also produced with full input from Jeter, will run in Sports Illustrated and the New York Daily News. See that? A print ad of all things; on actual paper. And not only do we know about it ahead of time, many of us are going to actively seek it out next week.
It’s no wonder those in the industry are calling the Gatorade ad, and the campaign around it, a home run. There are several take away points which other advertisers can gather from the drink company’s success.
Seize Opportunities
Gatorade immediately approached Jeter about shooting the ad in March of this year, when the captain first announced his plans to retire. While fans were shaking their fists at the sky at the idea of losing their beloved number 2, Gatorade was already ramping up to ride the inevitable end of season wave (no baseball stadium pun intended).
Tell A Story
We’ve seen plenty of wistful photos of Jeter since that announcement last spring. We’ve even seen other ads built around the theme of his legacy. The Gatorade ad was different. Our hero, walking through the streets of the Bronx, genuinely surprising fans and business owners, shaking hands with those who until then had only dreamed of doing so. By capturing the true, raw emotion of these real life moments, the ad hooked us. Who could look away? Yankee lover or hater, every one of us wanted to see that story play out.
Stay Out of the Way
The only appearance of Gatorade in the ad is a moderate logo placed mid-screen in its final seconds. The company does not attempt to take ownership of the moment, nor of the legend, but to present both with the subdued respect their subject’s fans would not only seek but demand. Was the impact diminished? Just the opposite. Any mention of the ad includes the name Gatorade, which means spreading the word several million times over.
Subject, tone, and approach are vitally important for any publicity campaign to be successful. If you are stepping up to the marketing bat and need some coaching along the way, we’d love to help. The seasoned professionals at Kovak-Likly can work with you to build a plan which takes advantage of what your audience wants, presents it in the right way, and sets you up for your own PR home run. Give us a call at 203.762.8833 or visit www.klcpr.com.
– BML
