As I write this it is about 94 degrees here in Chicago; perfect Gatorade weather. I walked home from the 'L' (or as you might say in Spanish, "el 'L'") and passed a 7-Eleven. My first thought "I really miss White Hen Pantry," but that quickly changed to "I could really go for demographic-specific Gatorade!" Thus I made beeline for the store. Thank heaven for 7-11! Gatorade was not only on sale but they had a new Hispanic-targeted flavor, Gatorade Sandia Citrus

If you are a regular reader here at BevReview, and you should be, then you will remember recently that we reviewed a sabor nuestro (new flavor) of Gatorade aimed at the Hispanic community, Gatorade Limon-Pepino. This flavor was cucumber-lime; it was both refreshing and delicious. Gatorade has a nuestro sabor nuestro geared towards the same market – Sandia Citrus! "Sandia" means watermelon and "Citrus" means citrus. Thus Watermelon Citrus. Sounds summer-y and refreshing, si? We'll see.

Like Gatorade Limon-Pepino, Gatorade Sandia Citrus promises "rehidrata, repone y reactiva para mantener tu desempeño cuando mas lo necesitas." (The translation of which can be found in our last Hispanic sports drink review.)

This Perform 02 G Series (or 02 Perform depending where on the bottle you look) has the standard ingredients:

Gatorade Sandia Citrus (Watermelon Citrus)
Aqua, sacarosa, dextrose, ácido citric, saborizante artificial, sal, citrate de sodio, fostato (phosphate), monopotásico, goma arábiga, goma éster! (mi favorito), rojo 40, amarillo 5, amarillo 6, azul 1

Amazing how even en español you can tell what they are! An 8 oz serving contains 50 calories, 110 mg sodium, 30 mg potassium, 14 g carbs, and 14 g sugars.

The color resembles a watermelon Jolly Rancher candy dissolved in water. And guess what?! The flavor does as well. I am not sure what makes up the "citrus" part of the Sandia Citrus but whatever it is, it is so subtle almost as not to exist. I can't detect lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, or any other citrus. The only flavor is a weak watermelon.

It really doesn't have much of a taste, and is in fact is pretty disappointing. It's like they added the water and forgot the melon. I didn't find it to be particularly refreshing; it just sort of sat there with no real kick. With the previously-reviewed Cucumber-Lime drink, at least you had a flavor combination that was unique. Sandia Citrus really doesn't have anything unique going for it other than the name being in a language other than English. Even the scent is like a watermelon hiding in the back of a damp cave – barely a wiff of anything resembling a fruit.

If you like your Gatorades to taste more like water than flavor then by all means purchase Sandia Citrus. Otherwise skip it and just eat a real watermelon instead!

If you are like me when you read the flavor of this G(atorade) you probably thought…huh?! Cucumberwhatnow? Yes, cucumber lime.

I had never heard of Gatorade Limon-Pepino until my sister sent me a 32 oz bottle in the mail all the way from Phoenix (full disclosure, my sister works for Gatorade.) She knew I am a fan of interesting beverages and knew I occasionally contributed to BevReview.com and thought I, and my fellow beverage hounds, would appreciate this unique flavor. She gave me one note with the bottle "drink extremely cold and on a hot day." So I promptly placed it in the fridge and waited for a warm day. The latter never arrived so instead I did 45 minutes of cardio at the gym and then rushed home to chug some G. Same dif.

The actual flavor name is Limon Pepino (Lime Cucumber) and is noted on the bottle as a "sabor nuestro" (new flavor). You'll notice the label also has a tag line in Spanish that basically translates to "Rehydrates, replenishes and reactivates your performance (game) when you need it most." It is part of the "G Series 02 [PERFORM]" whatever that means. I don't even think Gatorade employees can decode their naming/numbering system. 01Prime? 03Recover? Who cares.

The ingredients are fairly standard:

Gatorade Limon-Pepino (Lime-Cucumber)
Water, sucrose, dextrose, citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, gum arabic, glycerol ester of rosin, Yellow 5, and Blue 1

A 32 oz bottle contains 200 calories, 420 mg sodium, 56 g carbs, and 56 g sugars.

When I first opened the bottle I was greeted with a pleasant cucumber-y scent; like if you walked through your garden and accidentally tramped on a half dozen cukes. The lime is very faint. If I close my eyes, stick my nose completely into the bottle and inhale deeply there is a slight lime scent at the top. The flavor on the first few sips is mostly cucumbers as well but finishes with a nice light lime taste. I think this is because the cucumber is not a flavor I normally expect so it is overpowering initially. However, the more I drink it the cucumber flavor becomes more subtle and the lime makes itself more present.

The flavor is pretty nice. It's refreshing and tasty and would be great on a hot day at the beach with some chips y salsa y tacos y burritos. I have a feeling some people will love it while others might think it's gross. I for one, like cucumber slices in water, which, at all the swanky brunch places is trés is à la mode (the actual definition, not "with ice cream") so I liked this Limon Pepino Gatorade.

Being that this product is essentially marketed towards the Hispanic population you might be hard pressed to find it depending on your city. It was front and center at my local 7-11, but then again Chicago has a large Mexican population. It's worth seeking out if you are even mildly curious.

Gatorade fountain in Chicago Cubs dugout
(Source: Chicago Tribune)

You see, in the 7th inning, Nyjer Morgan of the Pirates scored, avoiding a tag at home plate by Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Umpire Mark Carlson called the player safe at home, which Zambrano highly disagreed with. A shouting match started between player and umpire, resulting in Zambrano shoving the umpire. Per MLB rules, this results in an automatic ejection from the game.

The controversial play and call
(Source: WGN-TV)

Now Zambrano is a great pitcher, but is also quite a hot head. He didn't take being thrown out of the game lightly. As he headed into the dugout, he grabbed a bat and started hitting the Gatorade dispenser, breaking it in parts. The Chicago Tribune reported that the machine had been repaired just 24 hours earlier after Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster punched it. Watch video via MLB.com to see the "Gatorade attack" as it played out!

Attack on the Gatorade machine
(Source: WGN-TV)

This season, the Gatorade machine replaced the standard water coolers you typically find in baseball dugouts. It was an innovative play for PepsiCo, giving them some nice branding with the orange background and the new "G" Gatorade logo there to be seen on television. In addition, it provided quick access to multiple flavors and water.

I have a friend, Nick Rosario, who works in the commissary operations at Wrigley Field. He was able to provide me with a list of the 6 options found in this Gatorade fountain.

The 6 fountain flavors
(Source: MouthpieceSports.com)

The flavors are, from left to right:

• Gatorade Lemon-Lime
• Gatorade Fruit Punch
• Gatorade Lemon-Lime
• Water
• Water
• Water

After the attack by Zambrano, the machine was repaired. However, it's last game was Sunday, May 31. The Tribune reports that the Gatorade fountain is being pulled out of the dugout, and the old water dispenser will be returned in its place.

It was a sad end for this beverage branding opportunity… and so short lived. But you just know that despite the outcome, PepsiCo loved all the promotion they got out of this string of events. Imagine if this was Coke's VitaminWater brand. Would it have had the same effect?

Two beverage companies featured advertising during the Super Bowl this year… it's not a surprise that they were The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Coke fielded 3 unique ads, while Pepsi showed 5. We've done detailed analysis on each of these ads individually, but here's a quick overview:

Coca-Cola Zero – "Mean Troy"

In this tribute to the original 1981 Coke commercial featuring Mean Joe Greene, The Coca-Cola Company debuted the first Coke Zero Super Bowl ad that features Troy Polamalu… and a storyline that seems similar, but different, from the original spot.

Coca-Cola – "Avatar"

This spot for Coke "shows how people in today's busy world use technology to stay virtually linked", but it also showcases how two people connect over high fructose corn syrup-sweetened goodness, while sitting in a diner that doesn't exist on Earth, using straws (seriously, straws?) to drink out of glass bottles that Coke doesn't even use in mainstream distribution.

Coca-Cola – "Heist"

This Coke commercial — part of the new "Open Happiness" campaign — features a bunch of bugs trying to steal a bottle from a guy in a park. Lots of CGI and a cheery music score make this a happy spot.

Pepsi Max – "I'm Good"

Diet Pepsi Max is relaunched on the big stage as Pepsi Max, a diet drink for men. Will this relaunched product — with new logo, name, and positioning — help in Pepsi's battle against Coke Zero?

Pepsi – "Refresh Anthem"

A 60-second spot for Pepsi featuring the "Refresh Anthem", sung by Bob Dylan, remixed with Will.i.am. It showcases how Pepsi has moved through the generations as always being the choice of the youthful set. Utilizing a parallel video device, it shows how some things have changed, but a lot of things stay the same.

Pepsi – "Pepsuber"

After debuting the night before via a trio of MacGruber product placement ads, Pepsi runs this Pepsuber spoof during the Super Bowl as part of their introduction of a new logo and slogan, "Refresh Everything".

Gatorade – "Talking Heads"

This is "Talking Heads", part of the repositioning of Gatorade around the "G" tagline through a series of "Manifesto" ads. It's part of Pepsi's "reinvention" of brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, and yes, Gatorade.

SoBe – "Lizard Lake"

This SoBe spot… yuck! The folks over at Arnell Group should be shot and relieved of their duties regarding the SoBe advertising account, because this 3D commercial done in conjunction with Intel, DreamWorks Animation, and NBC, is not only a bad Super Bowl piece… it's bad marketing.

Before we let the 2009 Super Bowl move into the past, I thought I might be interesting to step back and see how last year's beverage advertisers did over the past year. Was the Super Bowl exposure worth it?

• Diet Pepsi Max – "Nod"
  Pepsi spent the big bucks to introduce off Diet Pepsi Max to a larger audience… only to relabel it… rebrand it as Pepsi Max… and spend more money the next year to reintroduce the beverage. Result? Failure.

• Pepsi – "Magnetic Attraction"
  The reintroduction of Pepsi Stuff with Amazon MP3 downloads never really had the same appeal as the first iteration with Apple's iTunes. Add to that issues that retailers had with displays that showcased the Amazon brand (sensing that they were a competitor in the marketplace) and this promotion started hot, but in the public perception, fell flat. Result? Underwhelming.

• Gatorade G2 – "Derek Jeter Footsteps"
  Gatorade G2 was to be the hot new low-calorie version of the iconic sports drink that would appeal to the masses. A year later, Pepsi admitted the launch "was not quite as successful as we think it could have been." They are now repositioning the drink back at athletes. Result? Poorly Executed.

• Gatorade – "Man's Best Friend"
  An amazingly stupid commercial showcasing a dog drinking water out of a bowl. It was done by Arnell Group, the same agency that brought us this year's amazingly stupid 3D SoBe commercial. After having sales slip in 2008, Pepsi is relaunching Gatorade with new branding, iconography, and ads from a different agency. Result? Failure.

• SoBe LifeWater – "Thrillicious"
  Trying to take on Coke's Glacéau Vitaminwater, this spot introduced a bottle design that was very similar to the Coke product. And it featured dancing lizards. 1 year later, Coke had solid financials, while SoBe is relaunching their brand and redesigning their products once again. Result? Failure.

• Glacéau Vitaminwater – "Jockey"
  Coke had a solid 2008 in overall sales, though the only real growth they saw was in Coke Zero. Vitaminwater didn't return to the Super Bowl in 2009. Result? Unknown.

• Amp Energy – "Jumper Cables"
  Pepsi worked hard to give their Amp energy drink brand a boost by sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr's 88 car on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. The drink has grown 127.5% in 2008, with volume sales up 52.1%, outperforming the category. Result? Success.

• Coca-Cola – "Jinx"
  The election is over, so such a polarizing ad wouldn't work in 2009, but back in 2008 it made perfect sense. Result? Still, Coke was down North America by 2%, with only Coke Zero showing growth. The flagship seemed to struggle. Appropriate.

• Coca-Cola – "It's Mine"
  It's been interesting to read the reviews of 2009 Coke commercials from this Super Bowl. Many commentators compared this year's lineup against this very commercial, which they still feel was well-executed and Super Bowl-worthy. That it stands the test of time is notable. Result? Success.

Which commercials from 2009 did you like the best? Leave your comments below!

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Brand: Gatorade
Title: "Talking Heads"
Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day

After a rather underwhelming commercial last year with the product launch of G2, Gatorade returns with something more brand-oriented. This is "Talking Heads", part of the repositioning of Gatorade around the "G" tagline through a series of "Manifesto" ads. It's part of Pepsi's "reinvention" of brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, and yes, Gatorade.

Gatorade's product line has been redesigned to highlight both the iconic lightning bolt and the letter "G". Most of the products have been renamed as well. The new look was showcased during the Super Bowl in special bottle designs for the champions.

Regarding the focus of the ad, here's an excerpt from the press release:

The centerpiece of the "G" Manifesto campaign is a series of signature television spots that show how Gatorade is connecting to a broader range of athletes and active people. In a Gatorade context, "G" is the heart, hustle and soul of athleticism and is a badge of pride for anyone who sweats, no matter where they are active.

The "G" campaign brings together 29 legends, representing 18 sports, who have made their mark on sports and culture over the past six decades, and captures them in a dramatic black and white style by acclaimed film director Spike Lee. Another stand-out feature of the commercials is the narration which is provided by hip-hop sensation, Lil' Wayne.

While I'm not sure how I feel about the new look of Gatorade with the "G" branding — it somewhat feels like a reaction to Coke's VitaminWater — the advertising product the goes along with this is the high-profile stuff that the sports drink leader is known for… and this commercial continues that tradition.

(Source: TheDieline.com)

Packaging design blog TheDieline.com reports that there will be a Super Bowl champion-oriented design of Gatorade that will be featured on the field and in the locker room. They've mocked up two designs, but obviously only one will be used in the end.

(Source: TheDieline.com)

What's interesting is that the label design just features the logos. Nowhere does it actually mention the Super Bowl XLIII team names, Arizona Cardinals or Pittsburgh Steelers. And as much flack as Pepsi's logo redesign binge had, I must say that the Gatorade approach is growing on me.

Brand: Gatorade
Title: "Man's Best Friend"
Agency: Arnell Group

This commercial for PepsiCo's Gatorade doesn't really make a lot of sense… and is rather gross. So you have a dog drinking water out of a bowl for the whole spot… with the tagline "Gatorade. Life is Good" at the end. Huh?

Brand: Gatorade G2
Title: "Derek Jeter Footsteps"
Agency: Element 79 Partners, Chicago

PepsiCo's sports drink of dominance, Gatorade, makes a Super Bowl appearance. This time, however, it's the new low-calorie brand G2 that gets all the press. Of course, what the footsteps of the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter and a field that "follows" you have to do with a low-cal version of Gatorade is beyond me.