Sports drink brand Gatorade carried out this great campaign last year that tapped in to the psyche of many middle-aged men by giving a small group the chance to turn the clock back and relive a key sporting moment from their younger years.
The whole campaign was based on the fact that 70% of adults over 30 in the US do not exercise enough. With many men’s football careers ending upon leaving college, “Replay” was aimed at over 30’s that drank, and were familiar with Gatorade in their youth, but no longer exercised or drank it.
The campaign bought two rival American Football teams back together 15 years after they drew in their final senior year game. With Easton, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburgh, New Jersey’s rivalry stretching back over 100 years, it was a fixture that would guarantee interest in the local area, as well as touch a nerve with men across the country.
The teams’ last game ended 7-7 in 1993, while 2010 brought a 27-12 win for Phillipsborough.
Outside of the game itself, the campaign looked like this:
15,000 tickets for the re-match sold out in 90 minutes
Online webisodes and a TV Documentary was created charting the campaign’s story
The workouts used by the now-middle-aged men were posted online
A Facebook app was created to allow followers to re-unite their sports teams
So what happened?
Gatorade saw sales in the region soar by 63% and the campaign generated $3m worth of media coverage as well as $225,000 of paid coverage on sports news channels.
This great campaign tapped in to the dreams of middle-aged men by giving a small group of people the chance to re-live great memories and a great experience. The whole process was documented and subsequently distributed widely, allowing millions of people to engage, interact and follow the campaign.
Gatorade have since gone on to create “seasons” two and three, featuring the same format with hockey and basketball teams.