Gatorade revives iconic ‘Is It In You?’ tagline for largest-ever campaign

Dive Brief:

Gatorade is reviving its iconic “Is It In You?” tagline from the 1990s and 2000s as part of the PepsiCo brand’s largest-ever campaign, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
The campaign is meant to combat the intense societal pressures placed on the latest generation of athletes and is rooted in a 60-second ad narrated by longtime brand partner Michael Jordan with appearances from athletes like Caitlin Clark and A’Ja Wilson.
The spot debuted during the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 28. The campaign will run throughout the summer with additional marketing spanning social media, including custom filters on Snapchat and Instagram, and billboards in cities nationwide.

Dive Insight:

Gatorade is bringing fresh energy to its “Is It In You?” tagline from the ‘90s and early aughts to encourage the next generation of athletes to ignore the noise. The move seeks to address the shifting pressures and distractions faced by athletes today versus three decades ago, with 53% of Gen Z athletes who stopped playing sports reporting that they did so because of external factors like social pressure and unrealistic expectations, per Gatorade research cited in release details.

Accordingly, the revival of the brand’s iconic tagline — first popularized with ads showcasing NBA legend Jordan dripping in Gatorade-colored sweat — reintroduces the concept of “it,” or what the brand defines as the “inner drive that fuels greatness.” The campaign’s 60-second spot, “It Hasn’t Changed,” is narrated by Jordan, also the brand’s longest-standing athlete partner, and serves as a reminder to athletes that greatness isn’t about aspects like hype, clout or likes, but one’s own determination.

“The return of ‘Is It In You?’, our biggest campaign of all time, is about acknowledging how much the sports landscape has changed, while reminding athletes that one thing hasn’t – the inner drive that fuels you – and that’s what matters most,” said Gatorade Chief Brand Officer Anuj Bhasin in a statement.

The film also includes appearances from a number of Gatorade’s roster athletes, including Josh Allen, Caitlin Clark, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Jayson Tatum, A’ja Wilson, and DJ Lagway, who share stories of how they’ve overcome personal obstacles by channeling their “it” while being seen dripping in Gatorade-colored sweat in a nod to the original ads.

A handful of other brands have made the well-being of athletes a focus of their marketing, including Dove and Athleta. Additional marketing from Gatorade will also include a “colored sweat takeover” on social media from Gatorade’s athlete roster, billboards in cities across the country and custom filters on Snapchat and Instagram.

The revival of Gatorade’s decades-old tagline follows similar calls to the past from marketers including sister brand Pepsi, which celebrated 125 years by resurfacing past ads, and Coca-Cola brands Sprite and Fanta, both who brought back their own nostalgic platforms. The Gatorade campaign also reflects a “bigger, better” ethos observed within the splashy efforts from a variety of others lately ranging from Welch’s Fruit Snacks to Gopuff and Puma.

PepsiCo in its first quarter earnings called out Gatorade within its North America Beverages division for having “notable improvement” in its market share trends as the period progressed, per the company’s latest earnings statement. Earlier this year, the brand expanded its presence in the hydration market with the launch of Gatorade Water, the marketer’s first unflavored water, which it supported with a digital-first campaign titled “Always in Motion.”