BodyArmor fields an impressive lineup in "This Is Now," a cute commercial that positions the brand as an alternative to established players like Gatorade and Powerade.
Director Brian Ford and production company Schema Media strove "to make sure we had a unique creative approach to draw consumers in and hammer home that we are the sports drink for today's athlete," vp of marketing Michael Fedele tells AdFreak.
Quick cuts depict passé eras with which the brand would rather not be associated. The best bits include: Rockets guard James Harden, topped with a 'fro, committing fashion fouls in obscenely high socks and dangerously short shorts; Angels outfielder Mike Trout rocking a blonde mullet and loud tennis garb (he looks like Bjorn Borg crossed with Farrah Fawcett); and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck pimped out '70s-cop-show pimp style.
"That handlebar mustache on Andrew Luck was an impromptu shave that he actually did himself," says Fedele. "Back then, many pro QBs were very flamboyant. They threw on the fur and hit Studio 54, and the next morning did a photo shoot by the pool."
Richard Sherman, Buster Posey, Skylar Diggins and Rob Gronkowski also goof around in the ad. (Patriots' tight-end Gronk doesn't twerk, but he does dig in to a mountain of hot dogs.) "Filming the spot was a lot of fun," Fedele says. "We had Rob Gronkowski and Richard Sherman together for the first time since the Pats beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Mike Trout and Buster Posey, both MVPs, spent time talking shop when we filmed them during [Major League Baseball's] spring training."
It's a cool commercial, but can upstart BodyArmor (in which Kobe Bryant bought a stake last year) really make entrenched market leaders like Gatorade sweat?
"Young athletes, and the moms and dads who shop for them, compare BodyArmor to what's out there, and the facts speak for themselves," Fedele says of the brand's mix of coconut water, vitamins and electrolytes. "A 15-year-old athlete today doesn't want to drink the same sports drink their grandfather did."
