The One and Only, Derek Jeter

While reading Brand Media Strategy by Anthony Young,  I always connect the information that he is talking about with advertisements that I see in my everyday life. Chapter six is titled, Sparking Consumer Brand Conversations Through Media. This made me think of a certain commercial that made me spark a conversation with all of my five roommates, my dad, and my sister within one day. This commercial was Gatorade's "Made in New York ft. Derek Jeter". This campaign in my opinion, is the best Gatorade campaign that I have ever seen.

Derek Jeter is a true American hero when it comes to sports. When Jeter announced his retirement last March, Gatorade jumped on the opportunity to create a campaign with him. It doesn't matter if you are a Yankee fan, or even understand sports in any way, everyone knows Derek Jeter. With his retirement coming up, this was the perfect time for Gatorade to release this advertisement. People are very emotional and passionate about saying farewell to the Captain, which I think is why this commercial has been so successful. Here is the commercial incase you haven't seen it yet:

If this commercial featured any other baseball player, there is no way that it would have generated 4,992,576 views within the first three days of it being on YouTube. Gatorade excelled at choosing the most cultural elite athlete in history (in my opinion). As you can see from the priceless reactions of all of the people he interacts with in this commercial, he is someone that many people look up to. With Gatorade being linked to sports, I am sure that Derek Jeter will have an influence on people choosing Gatorade instead of other competitors.