Ad of the Day: Gatorade

After his epic performance at the London Olympics, Usain Bolt gets an epic commercial to match—this Gatorade spot from TBWA\Chiat\Day, in which the Jamaican sprinter is presented as a Grim Reaper of sorts, killing off any hopes that rivals might have had of finishing anywhere near him. Face obscured by a hoodie, Bolt stalks his way through London—its backstreets and byways, tunnels and parks—on his way to the Olympic Stadium, as the voiceover gloats about how Gatorade didn't have to advertise at the Games because it was already inside the athletes. "We weren't there on stadium billboards," the narrator begins. "We weren't there on double-decker buses. We weren't on buttons, souvenirs or commemorative snow globes. We weren't there officially sponsoring anything. We were there for real. Inside the bodies of some of the greatest athletes on earth."

Bolt enters an empty Olympic Stadium, pulls back his hood, and pops an orange Gatorade energy chew in his mouth. Suddenly, he's on the track, ready to make history as the crowd roars. Cut to the Gatorade logo and the hashtag #winfromwithin.

The spot is actually a recut version of one that broke a month ago, in which Bolt himself provided the voiceover—vowing never to stop until he had vanquished all opponents. Having done so in dramatic fashion in London, he's earned the right to brag—and so have the brands who snapped him up early as an endorser. 

Now, if only Gatorade could move a little faster, and update Bolt's bio on its website.

CREDITS

Client: Gatorade

Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles

Executive Creative Director: Patrick O'Neill

Global Group Creative Director: Brent Anderson

Global Group Creative Director: Steve Howard

Creative Director: Jayanta Jenkins

Creative Director, Copywriter: Linda Knight

Executive Producer: Sarah Patterson

Producers: Molly Tait, Michael Gross, Matthew Magsaysay

Executive Business Affairs Manager: Lisa Lipman

Group Planning Director: Scott MacMaster

Senior Planner: Marisa Robertson

Planner: Rebecca Harris

Worldwide Managing Director: Nick Drake

Group Account Director: Blake Crosbie

Management Supervisor: Magdalena Huber

Account Supervisor: Brad Nolde

Sports Marketing Account Executive: Lexi Vonderlieth

Music Supervisor: Michael Gross

Production Company: Untitled

Director: The Cronenweths

Executive Producer: Jim Evans

Head of Production: Geoff Campbell

General Manager: Larry Edwards

UPM: Kay Kelman

Director of Photography: Jeff Cronenweth

Production Company: Smuggler

Director: Jaron Albertin

Executive Producers, Heads of Commercials: Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling Smith

Executive Producers: Lisa Rich, Allison Kunzman

Producers: Lisa Tauscher, Helen Hollien, Donald Taylor

Director of Photography: Linus Sandgren

Production Designer: Duncan Reed

Service Production Company: Mad Cow Films

Executive Producer: Pete Chambers

Producer: Jonas Blanchard

Production Manager: Melissa Fallon

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors

Executive Producer: Linda Carlson

Producer: Justin Kumpata

Editor: Angus Wall

Assistant Editor: Austyn Daines

Visual Effects: The Mill

Visual Effects Producer: Enca Kaul

2-D Lead: Billy Higgins

Design Art Director: Tom O’Neill

Design Producer: Luscia Boryczko

Music: Original Music by Human

Final Mix: Lime