Darren Rovell's Gatorade blog

Behind Victory Orange

We've been clamoring for information behind the new Victory Orange flavor and we finally have all the answers. The flavor is the combination of orange and black cherry, I'm told. Uh, why don't we have a straight up black cherry? I'd love that one. The flavpr is available for a limited time only this spring and summer at convenience stores. Beginning with this weekend's Aaron's 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway, winning race teams at ISC tracks across the country will celebrate their wins by drinking and splashing Gatorade Victory Lane Orange all over themselves. I'm sure the people at POWERade, which have the official sports drink designation of NASCAR, are thrilled about this flavor.

Gatorade On Connecticut Schools Banned List

Unfortunately for the folks at Pepsi, owners of Gatorade, the state of Connecticut's legislation that will soon be passed Gatorade on the banned list of what can't be sold in public schools. The bill bans regular and diet sodas, as well as Gatorade. The only drinks that can be sold -- bottled water, milk or 100 fruit or vegetable drinks. When Gov. Jodi Rell signs the bill, Connecticut will be fourth state to have such legislation. It has been interesting to watch how some states consider Gatorade a health drink, while others group it with the sodas. California, for example, which has a ban in place, allows Gatorade to be sold.

Is Wade Drinking Too Much Gatorade?

Cramping in athletes is often related to dehydration. That's why I was surprised to see this news today from Gatorade endorser Dwyane Wade. Apparently, according to the Miami Herald, Wade has been drinking too much.

Wade has been drinking a lot of fluids to prevent dehydration, which is at the root of his cramp problem, the paper said.

``The main thing is hopefully I don't drink too much Gatorade and too much water," Wade said. 'We're trying to get it to a point where I'm drinking just enough to keep myself hydrated so I don't have those problems again,'' Wade said.

Gatorade Again Behind PepsiCo Profit Rise

It was announced today that PepsiCo's beverage division revenue in the first quarter was up 12 percent to $1.99 billion. Carbonated soft-drink volume declined 1 percent, while non-carbonated beverage volume increased 18 percent, fueled by double-digit growth of its Gatorade, Aquafina, Lipton teas and Propel brands. Sports drinks, water and other non-carbonated beverages continue to rule over the non-carbonated beverages.

New Sidney Crosby Gatorade Commercial Is Here!

I've been running this site for more than a year, and I've never received more hits from people typing into Google this phrase: "Sidney Crosby Gatorade commercial." It really speaks to the power that this kid has in the marketplace and seems like Gatorade Canada couldn't have signed a better endorser. Well, thanks to reader Jim Anderson, we've finally found the commercial on YouTube.com.

A reader named Alina Landry tells us that the commercial was filmed in Toronto and the outdoor scenes took two days to shoot. She reports that Sidney wasn't there with the 200 extras because he was recovering from an ankle injury, so they used a stunt double. The only scenes she said he did were in the arena and the shot of him throwing the stick. As you can see from the commercial, the Hanson Bros. were included. Landry, who says she was there, said she was told they brought in approximately 3,000 hockey sticks and they let the kids take them home.

Gatorade In India

I just read a very interesting article written by Rituparna Chatterjee of Rediff India Abroad. In it, Chatterjee talks about the challenges Gatorade and the local sports drink, Stamina, are facing. Gatorade has been in the country for about a year and half. Citizens in the country seem to prefer juice drinks over sports drinks and the price for Gatorade has been accordingly dropped, the publication reports. One of the most interesting parts of the article is the comparison between the sponsorship strategies of Stamina, which is produced by the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, and Gatorade. Stamina actually has a sponsorship with a hospital, which one local retailer says is a stumbling block in its marketing (In the U.S., Gatorade has always avoided blatant marketing to the sick). Gatorade India has done the same type of affiliation with the trainers that was so important to its growth here in the U.S. One thing that the people at Gatorade in the America would never approve of? They're sponsoring beauty pageants!

Another Gatorade spiking

It seems like we have one of these every month now. Last month, a six-year-old was brought to the hospital after his Gatorade was found to contain the date rape drug GHB. And I've talked about two cases -- one involving a woman who was accused of killing her husband by spiking his Gatorade, another accused of killing his wife by spiking her Gatorade. These things are obviously out of the brand's control, and it's part of being as big as they are, but it's nonetheless not a good thing. Today, a report out of Columbus, Ohio. According to NBC News in Columbus, a high school student was charged with a felony after spiking a fellow student's Gatorade with an over-the-counter sleeping medication. The student was hospitalized. 

What Do The Elite Runners Drink?

I was watching the Boston Marathon today on OLN and I couldn't help wonder, "What is in those special bottles that the elite runners have color coded?" I couldn't help but notice that not one runner picked up a commercial product like Gatorade. Now obviously the value of Gatorade being the official sports drink of the Boston Marathon comes in the tens of thousands of runners who might become more brand loyal after using it during their race. But it's amazing how there's almost no in-race advertising. The only time I saw a Gatorade logo during the entire coverage? When's the female winner Rita Jeptoo crossed the finish line and was handed a bottle of Purple Gatorade Rain.

More on Sidney Crosby & Gatorade

Today's Globe & Mail has a story about hockey phenom Sidney Crosby and his relationship with Gatorade Canada. The article talks about how Crosby is now the most expensive active hockey player in the endorsement game. Gatorade signed him to a deal, along with the likes of Reebok (now owned by Adidas), before he played a single game. Crosby has two more games in his rookie season and is three points away from 100. The 60-second Gatorade commercial, which apparently debuted in movie theatres first, hits television sets in Canada today.

This is how the newspaper describes the spot: "(It) shows Mr. Crosby throwing his stick into a pile to join a game of street hockey. As word gets out, dozens of others flock to the street for a chance to play with the NHL star, and the pile of hockey sticks grows into a small mountain."

It's a great coup for Gatorade to have Crosby and if he gets big enough, they might just have to extend his contract to make it a North American deal. According to an article in a publication called Strategy Magazine, Gatorade Canada's marketing manager Jeff Jackett had been following Crosby from Dec. 2003 until he signed him in March 2005. They even interviewed people in his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, to find out more about his personality. "(Jackett helped) people (internally) understand the significance of signing Crosby using the Jordan analogy," said his boss marketing director Derek Estabrook.

The story in Strategy actually mirrors a story I heard about cutouts of Jordan, which were stolen from stores. Crosby's cutouts were also stolen and sold for as much as $135 on eBay.

In the Globe and Mail piece, Jackett is obviously ecstatic with the signing of Crosby.

"He's priming himself to be the next great pitchman in the game," Jackett said. "It's something that he's seemingly been ready to do for quite some time. There's just something about him that the public seems to love...It seemed character-wise, he was very solid and came from a good home and upbringing. These things are very important when it comes to choosing your athlete."

Said Crosby: "I don't think I'm a natural actor by any means. I don't have the skills for stuff like that, but I try my best."

30,000 Gallons of Gatorade Endurance

Yes, that's how much of the formula will be served at Monday's Boston's Marathon. "The Marathon has three sources of funds: the sponsors, the entry fees and licensing agreements," race director Guy Morse told the Metrowest Daily News. "By far, the sponsorships are the largest piece, and it helps us keep the entry fees at reasonable levels. If we had to charge the runners the real cost of running the Marathon, it would cost each runner hundreds (of dollars)."

I'm sure the runners are glad for the subsidizing, but I've honestly reached the point where I will check the drink sponsor before every long race. If it's Gatorade, I'm ecstatic. If it's POWERade, I'm OK. If it's Amino Vital, I'm out. Literally, as in I'm not signing up for the race. I know, you say, 'Why don't you carry your drink?' I'm not carrying my drink in any race longer than five miles and there's nothing worse that cringing when you finally get to a hydration station.

By the way, for those of you long distance runners who haven't tried the Endurance Formula yet, you can go to www.itsonthecourse.com and download a coupon that will get you five bottles for $5.