Executive Decisions: Episode 7 - New Gatorade Flavor...Shrubbery?

After a long absence, Executive Decisions is back!

There has been a lot of new buzz in the Ad world these past few months, and most of it has been surrounding PepsiCo's massive product rebranding.

I touched on Pepsi's makeover in my last installment, now onto another popular drink, Gatorade. Or as it's being called now, G.

In the weeks before and during the Super Bowl, Gatorade brought out these cool teaser spots, asking "What's G?" The spots were narrated by Grammy-winning rapper Lil' Wayne and it featured legends like Jordan, Ali, and Jeter. But other notable names who deserve the limelight were featured, like Jason McElwain - the autistic former high school manager who drained 20 points in four minutes.

Here's one of the spots:



After the initial buzz dust settled, it was time to push more messaging, and now that we know what G is...we have find it. Enter the "Quest for G"



Wow. A pretty accurate parody of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, including the coconut banging, cumbersome knight helmets and the artwork at the end. But other than the world "Grail" starting with a G, what's the connection? And why is Usain Bolt both a knight and a head with only legs?

By doing some extra searching into MissionG.com, you begin to see how the story unravels. Usain Bolt is a knight who's ego is always accompanying him, hence the big head and nothing else. Similar to the criticism he received for his gold medal celebrations. As they go along on this path of parody, there is a subtle message - G is not a material object, it is what you're made of.

So to conclude, this is a campaign that raises a lot of questions, but like the knights searching for G, you have to find out what it means yourself. And when it all comes together, it just makes sense.

My Consensus: A-