Darren Rovell's Gatorade blog

Free Gatorade Wristbands

In recent years, Gatorade has done very few promotions. Why? Because Gatorade easily sells at full price. But in the past few months, I've seen more than ever before. I'm not sure why this is considering there are Gatorade shortages across the country. A couple months ago, I bought a couple Gatorades in order to get a soft Gatorade logoed cooler. Today, I walked into my CVS and saw a promotion -- buy two four-packs of 32-ounce Gatorade and get a pair of free wristbands. The wristbands aren't available for sale on Gatorade.com, but I've seen them on eBay selling for $3.99 each.

Jelly Belly's Sport Beans Reviewed

I paid $1.19 for 14 Sport Beans today. They taste like jelly beans with an extra sugar boost. The 14-piece serving size has 60 milligrams of sodium compared to an 8-ounce serving of Gatorade, which has 110 milligrams. Sport Beans have double the carbohydrates, but also double the calories. I don't expect it to compete with Gatorade or the sports drink category. They will be seen as an alternative.

Donated Gatorade For Hurricane Victims Being Pilfered?

I remarked previously about how Gatorade was a highly requested item for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Sources have told me that PepsiCo has donated more than 600,000 bottles worth of Gatorade (or about 24 truckloads) worth and is working with FEMA to distribute them. Of course it's not that easy. According to the Associated Press, law enforcement is investigating complains that workers in New Orleans are helping themselves to the cases of Gatorade.

Gumbel To Network Execs: Stop Showing Gatorade Baths

Last month on HBO's "Real Sports," the host Bryant Gumbel ended the show with a rant about Gatorade. Well, I just got the tape, thanks to fine people at the network. Gumbel addressed his comments towards the heads of the sports networks: "I'm officially asking them to please...order your directors to stop shooting the old and tired, regularly executed, totally predictable, absolutely unfunny, Gatorade bath of the winning coach at game's end. When linebacker Harry Carson of the Giants started dousing Coach Bill Parcells it was cute and different. Now, 20 years later, it's a thrill only for those still into the macarena. It's simple really. You've already ordered your directors to ignore the jerks who leap from the stands onto the field. And you've clearly told them to avoid the cell phone nerds who wave at the cameras. So will you please now suggest they ignore the neanderthals who still think the Gatorade bit is clever. We all know that if you stop showing it, they'll stop doing it. You guys can phase a dated and tired gag out of existence. You have the power. Make this football season and those to come a lot more enjoyable, so please, at least think about it. In advance, gentleman, thank you for considering this one simple request. We'll talk about the stupid crowd shots another time." For the record, the Gatorade Bath turns 20 in five weeks. Do you think Gatorade Baths are stupid? Write in and we'll post. And special thanks for avid blog reader Stacey Pressman for telling me to watch.

Coca-Cola Deceptive In POWERade Option Advertising

I'm all for healthy competition in the sports drink market, but I'm not exactly sure that Coca-Cola is engaging in fair advertising tactics with its new POWERade Option. Today, the company had a huge full-page ad on the back of the sports section of USA Today proclaiming that it was "the new low calorie sports drink" and that it had "80 percent fewer calories than Gatorade." The problem is, you can't compare Option (10 calories per 8 ounces) to Gatorade (50 calories per eight ounces). You have to compare Option to Gatorade's Propel because it's closer to a flavored water than it is to a sports drink. They are totally different markets. I'm also not OK with Coca-Cola saying in the advertisement that "POWERade Option Strawberry beats the taste of Propel Berry" in a taste test. You can't say that either. Pepsi-Cola never did a taste test up against Sprite. They went up against Coca-Cola. It has to be the exact same flavor otherwise it doesn't work. POWERade Option has a black cherry so Coca-Cola should have compared those. The ad also specifies a money-back guarantee if a person doesn't like the taste. But it comes in a form of a coupon. So let's say you buy a POWERade Option for $1 in New York State. Coca-Cola won't pay you back for the sales tax (.05), for the shipping to send the coupon (.37) and charges a handling fee (.08). Anyone who will then wait 6 to 8 weeks for their 50 cents probably should be drinking water anyway.

Glaceau Founder and CEO Bikoff Bashes Sports Drinks

J. Darius Bikoff, the founder and CEO of Glaceau, makers of Vitaminwater, Smartwater and Fruitwater, takes a shot at sports drinks in a profile of him in the September issue of Inc. Magazine. The 44-year-old, whose company does more than $100 million in business, says that unlike Gatorade, his company's sports drink, Perform, doesn't have sodium because "there's no magic to salt." Gatorade officials would disagree with this by saying that salt is a major component of sweat and is important for keeping the electrolyte balance stable in the body. Perform is endorsed by 20 Major League Baseball players. I'm interested to see how it will "Perform" in the marketplace.

Sports Drinks In Convenience Stores

Non-alcoholic beverages were the second most popular purchase at convenience stores last year, reports Beverage Digest. Cigarettes made up 34.7 percent of purchases, while non-alcoholic beverages had a 12.2 percent share and beer made up 11.9 percent. According to statistics from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), sports drinks made up 9.5 percent of all beverage purchases, with sales going up by 0.4 percent from the year before.

Gatorade Shortages Continue

One of the many items requested for donation for the Hurricane Katrina evacuees is Gatorade. The problem is that, even before the natural disaster, there were already shortages of the sports drink because of the amount of product being sent to troops overseas. According to the Army Times, "demand for Gatorade has never been higher, especially among troops in the sweltering combat zones." Gatorade spokesman Andy Horrow once again confirmed the strain on the amount of product, but also said that the military wasn't necessarily more important than consumers in the United States, who are enduring a national heat wave. According to the article, worldwide Gatorade sales are up 40 to 50 percent compared to sales last summer. Military exchanges worldwide sold $14.8 million worth of Gatorade in fiscal 2004. More than 15 percent went to troops in combat zones, according to the newspaper. "It's very unlikely you won't find Gatorade," Horrow said. "What's more likely is that you won't find the flavor that you want in the size that you want."

First in Thirst Reviews

The book reviews are starting to pour in. In today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cecil Johnson summarizes the part of my book that talks about the Gatorade dunk and Michael Jordan. He ends with this: "For the most part, this book is a rewarding read. There does come a point where the salt may lose its savor for some readers. In sum, there may be more here than many readers really want to know about Gatorade, even after they learn that Elvis swilled it by the gallon."

I actually worked really hard to vary the facts about the drink so that I didn't stick too long on one topic. I've also read enough brand books to know when the writer gets overly obsessive. I think that anyone that will pick up the book and is interested in knowing more than what they know now, will not be disappointed. Obviously I go in depth -- I'm writing 243 pages on one brand. When I was pitching the book, some publishers said they thought the story was no more than a magazine story. Funny. I think I could have written at least 400 pages on Gatorade if I wanted to.

New Gatorade Alcoholic Drink Named

There's Green Crap (Lemon-Lime and Gin) and Anti-Freeze (Gatorade and Vodka). Now you can order an "Urban Meyer hot mother," thanks to 54-year-old Florida Gators fan Pat Conlon. Conlon named the drink, which has blue and orange Gatorade, after the team's new head football coach. The only problem with it, Conlon tells the Gainesville Sun, is that blue and orange might be the school colors, but the mixing of the colors turns it into a brown concoction.