Taking A Look At Gatorade Advertisements

Every Ounce Counts Gatorade is an American sports drink company that has refreshed athletes since 1965. Every year, Gatorade comes out with a variety of new advertisements to sell their product. In this year’s 2017 NFL preview edition of Sports Illustrated, Gatorade features an advertisement that stands out among the rest. Even though Gatorades advertisement in Sports Illustrated was rather simple, the advertisement does a good job of displaying how drinking Gatorade can make you an explosive athlete. Just like J.J. Watt is in the ad. The Gatorade advertisement has a simplistic nature demonstrated by only two combined images and 14 words. Upon first glance the item that is most notable is the phrase “Every Ounce Counts.” This phrase is placed
so it appears as if it is bursting out of the Gatorade bottle. Upon further inspection of the advertisement, it is noticeable that there is a football player that is causing the bottle to burst; this football player is NFL defensive end J.J. Watt. Inside of the silhouette of the bottle is Gatorades signature look: the big “G” and lightning bolt. Finally, below the text “Every Ounce Counts” is the phrase “Carbs and electrolytes to help you give that extra ounce.” All of these items are featured on a page that is a bright magenta color that grabs the reader’s attention as they are flipping through the magazine. This Gatorade advertisement was in this year’s publication of the 2017 NFL preview edition of Sports Illustrated. Gatorade’s advertisement inside of a magazine dedicated to sports really speaks to who Gatorade markets their product too. Sports Illustrated is a magazine that appeals to males between the age of 16 and 60 who love to read about sports. This specific issue provides information about the upcoming NFL season. Some of the information present in the magazine includes new players in the league, the many teams, and who is predicted to win the Super Bowl. So, Gatorades decision to place an advertisement in Sports Illustrated is perfect. The readers are people who are looking to know more about the professional athletes and to be able to idolize them even more. The placement of the advertisement in the magazine is ideal. The previous pages are very bland in color with nothing but a few pictures and a lot of text to read. Upon flipping to the page with the advertisement on it, the reader is hit with a bright colorful advertisement that will make the reader pause to see what it is. Upon further inspection the reader will see the Gatorade logo with the slogan “Every Ounce Counts.” Now the next time the reader is looking for a beverage to drink, they will think of the advertisement they just saw for Gatorade. Along with brilliant placement of the ad, the designer did an excellent job of making the advertisement simple yet effective.
The advertisement does not feature a bunch of fancy text and a bunch of pictures of people drinking Gatorade. It’s a good thing that Gatorade did not try to overdo this advertisement. If they would have added a bunch of necessary text it would have taken away from the main focus of the advertisement, which is the slogan “Every Ounce Counts.” Likewise, it is also a positive addition that Gatorade did not overflow the advertisement with unnecessary images. The excessive use of images can often times make the advertisement look sloppy and unorganized. The addition of these unneeded images would have taken away from Gatorades main focal point of the advertisement, which is the football player bursting out of the
bottle.
The simplicity of the advertisement is also aided by its use of only a few colors. It consists of four colors, a magenta background, light blue and white text, and an orange cap on the bottle. Having only four colors makes it easy on the reader’s eyes, but still draws their attention to the advertisement.
Gatorades advertisement being simple makes it easy for the reader to remember what they just read. They don’t have to look at the advertisement for a long time. It’s a quick glance and they are able to remember everything they just saw in the advertisement. The simplicity also makes it easy for the brand to be recognized. The reader doesn’t have to search for what is being advertised. At the bottom of the page, the word “Gatorade” is written in all caps white text and the Gatorade giant “G” logo is in the right center of page. The logo and the company name are easy to find. It isn’t hidden behind a bunch of other text or images. It is right there in the open. Another key feature that the publisher added was the use of slogans and information about the product.
Even though there are only 14 words in the entire ad, the text is used efficiently. The phrase “Every ounce counts” makes the reader wonder what exactly that means. If the reader looks just to the right of the text the image of J.J. Watt “bursting” out of the Gatorade bottle gives the reader a good idea of what it could mean. It could mean that if you drink Gatorade you will have that extra ounce of energy to make you an explosive athlete. Then the factual text of, “carbs and electrolytes to help you give that extra ounce” gives the reader it’s vividly clear message. This text now tells the reader how drinking Gatorade will help them achieve the goal of giving the extra
ounce. Overall, the creator of the Gatorade advertisement effectively pieced together every component of this advertisement. The color, text, images and simplicity all came together to create and advertisement that was very effective to the appeal of the audience in Sports Illustrated. All of these components come together to make the readers of the magazine want to purchase Gatorade’s products to make them a better athlete, just like J.J. Watt.