"That's all we've ever shown - people sweating and working out hard," Magazine said.
With G2, Gatorade is making a significant departure. It's not being marketed as a sports drink, nor is it being promoted as enhanced water. It's somewhere in the middle. G2 has 25 calories per 8-ounce serving, compared with 50 for Gatorade and 10 for a conventional Propel. G2 has electrolytes to fight dehydration but not as much as Gatorade.
The company calls G2 an "off-the-field hydrator," something athletes drink in their down time. To foster that image, Gatorade is about to launch an ad campaign that will initially feature Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees and the Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade. But the star athletes will be clad in street clothes, not playing uniforms.
Teaser ads for G2 began running in December, but the kickoff will be during next month's Super Bowl.
"We will have a sizable presence in the Super Bowl," Magazine said, though he declined to say whether Gatorade is buying multiple spots during the game.
The approach has its doubters. An Advertising Age editorial in August said Gatorade risked "hyper extending its brand" by taking its marketing focus off athletes in the heat of battle. Then, there's the specter of Gatorade Light, a low-calorie version that bombed shortly after it was launched in 1990.
"The skeptics are saying, `It didn't work then, why should it work now?' " said Edward Jones' Russo, who added he's not among those skeptics.
Magazine said G2 "is a completely different proposition" than Gatorade Light, which was marketed as a diet sports drink.
"It's like comparing apples to oranges," he said.
Mike Hughlett writes for the Chicago Tribune.
