COKE’S POWERADE
We were tasked with introducing Coke’s first-ever isotonic beverage (that means it offsets dehydration; tons of mind-bending science here) to the entire European market, Powerade. The idea was to use the most popular sport in the world, soccer (“futbol”), but to do it at the grassroots level (pun intended). Where Coke had it wrong was trying to say, “When you go for the gold, drink Powerade”. After all, how many people actually play in the World Cup (gold)? We would sell 200 bottles of Powerade in total.
Instead we targeted the regular Joe or Jose who loves playing soccer in his backlot. We positioned Powerade as the drink that empowers you to play your favorite game longer; “the never-ending game”. The Never-Ending Game campaign, which launched at the FIFA World Cup, represented the number one liquid beverage launch in Coca-Cola history. And they’re pretty good at liquid beverages.
Coke was thrilled, nobody got muscle cramps, a lot of soccer was played, we basically saved the world.
