In order to better hydrate the University of Florida Gators football team during the sweltering summer months, researchers there developed a novel sports drink in 1965. Since the researchers gave the beverage the moniker “Gatorade,” it has come to be associated with physical activity and sports.
The incredibly memorable “Be Like Mike” jingle had its debut in a Gatorade commercial in 1991, starring NBA legend Michael Jordan. Jordan became a household brand and one of the most well-known players in American sports history because to the advertisements and his supremacy on the court.
Many sports stars, including Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, Mia Hamm, and many more, have been in Gatorade advertisements since. Over the course of the following three decades, many players demonstrated their desire to Be Like Mike.
In print and television advertisements portraying athletes participating in their sport and sweating out Gatorade, the brand’s famous “Is It In You?” slogan was gradually discontinued in recent years.
With a new commercial starring Jordan, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Las Vegas Aces guard A’Ja Wilson, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and other players, the brand announced the phrase and campaign’s comeback on Wednesday.
As the commercial begins and we watch the athletes practicing before they emerge in in-game action, Jordan narrates, “Everything about the game has changed, except for the most important thing: what you have inside.”
It appears that Gatorade may have hit all the right chords with their comeback, and nostalgia is a powerful tool.
