-By David Gianatasio

BOSTON PepsiCo's Gatorade has confirmed moving its Propel fitness water account to Omnicom Group's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners from sibling Element 79.

All told, Gatorade spends more than $150 million annually in U.S. measured media, with approximately half of that outlay in recent years supporting Propel, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

The client issued this statement regarding the shift: "Since we introduced Propel in 2002, the business has achieved significant growth, while -- at the same time -- our Gatorade business continued to expand. Both businesses are now at a juncture where focused attention is what we believe is best for each. In essence, both represent size and scale that warrant independent creative thinking to fuel their growth."

Recent Propel commercials from Element 79 have been tagged "How fit is your water?" and feature customer testimonials -- set in a gym -- comparing the 25-calorie beverage to higher-calorie alternatives. (Though not named, Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water is a key competitor in the category and its bottles appear in the ads.)

Element 79 in Chicago continues to work on Gatorade's Thirst Quencher and G2 brands.

Goodby in San Francisco was already on PepsiCo's roster, handling two of the company's Frito Lay snack-food properties: Cheetos and Doritos.

Agency executives did not return calls seeking comment.