Signifier: Gatorade
Signified: It shows you that Gatorade is the premier sports drink in the world and that all the important athletes use it to help them be great, that you should drink this product as well to help you be great. This campaign shows all of the great athletes using Gatorade to be the hero in the game that we all need. It is all a part of a bigger campaign slogan for “Is it in you?”
Image: The print ad shows all of the athletes back then who were signed by Gatorade and were all winners then. Three of the biggest athletes to be featured are quarterback Peyton Manning of the Colts, then shortstop Derek Jeter of the Yankees, and shooting guard of the Heat Dwayne Wade. The other famous athletes are, center and Captain of the Penguins Sidney Crosby, tennis star Maria Sharapova, soccer star Landon Donovan formerly of the Galaxy, a NASCAR driver, Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh of volleyball, and a prominent female soccer player. It shows you can win all the important games no matter the sport with Gatorade.
Denotation: This is an ad for a sports drink brand. It ran commercials of all of the athletes pictured by themselves or a few together. The image is a dark hallway leading to the field for the big game with the athletes bigger than life, a light shining on them all and asking is it in you to be the hero of the game? The goal is to get you to drink it because all of your athletic heroes are using it to help them have an edge.
Connotation: Gatorade is historic being around since 1965. You see in the ad Peyton Manning one of the greatest QBS ever and Derek Jeter one of the greatest SS’s ever. Within the United States, Gatorade accounts for approximately 75 percent market share in the sports drink category, which it is telling you that it has always beaten the competition in the sports drink world and that is historically the go to sports drink.
Icon: Whenever you see the Gatorade logo you know you’re getting the premiere sports drink that all of the greats of all time drank. There are many logos you see and go that’s high quality and world known brand.
Diachronic Analysis: Gatorade is all about relatability with its customers. They filled a niche that wasn’t there in the mid 60s in the world of sports drinks. Everyone was drinking water only until the University of Florida decided to come up with a flavored drink to replenish the combination of water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes because the school’s student-athletes lose sweat during rigorous athletic competitions. This ad was to reinvent themselves and get back to being the top brand of sports drink since Vitamin Water and PowerAde have both become major players in the sports drink game. They have had a few campaigns like “G Series” where they have a pre game, during the game, and post game drink to help you replenish. This is one asking “Is It in You?” where there have been ads of non famous athletes drinking it as well from college or high school kids. With this ad it’s telling you every game has a hero which is a story arc from the dawn of time to the beginning of sports. They show the more clutch performers in the sports world as they have all won a championship/trophy and won when the game was on the line. For me I have no idea who the NASCAR driver is since they wear helmets and drive a car and we can’t see them nor care. The lighting is bad and you can’t tell who the soccer players are and you know only know the female tennis player because there is a commercial with her. I had to Google who was one of the volleyball players since I only could assume the first one is Misty May-Treanor because she is married to a baseball player.
Codes: The game Gatorade plays is that the only way to be a hero and win the important games in clutch is you need to drink their product. They also want to know “Is It in you?” to be that hero. If all the important athletes outside of Brian Urlacher are spokesmen of Gatorade that you need to use it to be like them. Also everyone is pretty much using it so you should use it as well.
Ideology: The definition of premiere is to be the leading one. Gatorade is the number 1 selling sports product as it has 75% of the market share in its field. It is the sports drink that everyone uses. World class athletes, high school athletes, and the avid athletes just trying to stay in shape, it is the go to sports drink to use as it will help your performance. People don’t even say sports drinking when referring to it they say Gatorade even when having PowerAde. It is like when people ask if you have a coke they are referring to if you have any soda/cola.
Jingoism: It appeals to the athlete in you and the sports fan who just wants to have any connection to his favorite sports teams or athletes. It targets all ages and sexes and sport fans. You see all the sports represented by all ages and genders. It is all recognizable the drink itself and certainly the athlete using it. Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and Peyton Manning are recognized all over the world and might as well use them as spokesmen to sell it.