Gatorade Launches "Everything Changes" Global Football Campaign Featuring Football Superstars Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, And Gabriel Jesus

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Apr 30, 2018, 09:00 ET

The biggest international campaign in the brand's 50-plus year history, "Everything Changes," demonstrates continued commitment to fueling footballers around the globe

CHICAGO, April 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As the global leader in sports fuel, Gatorade has decades of experience fueling football of all levels. Today, the brand is launching a new international campaign titled, "Everything Changes," and the brand's first sport-specific product, Gatorade Football Energy.

The Gatorade "Everything Changes" campaign focuses on the shift that takes place when football club teammates become rivals. The TV advertisement features the storyline of FC Barcelona players, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, who are best friends and train together until it's time to play against each other. While their respective objectives change, fueling with Gatorade does not.

"I have had a great experience working with Gatorade," said Messi. "Luis and I are very competitive; we always want to win, so we put aside our strong friendship when we compete against each other. Taking care of our bodies is very important and we focus on proper sports nutrition and the right hydration. Gatorade is our key partner who helps us in all this."

The integrated campaign also features Brazilian National Team superstar and Manchester City striker, Gabriel Jesus. The campaign will run in several Latin American countries, Western Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the U.S. It will extend beyond TV to print, digital and social media, point-of-sale and more.

"It's always fun to compete with a good friend like Leo," said Suárez. "Working with Gatorade, I know the importance of fueling and hydrating with the right products to help me optimize my performance throughout training and matches."

"Invented in the lab, proven on the field," is not just a tagline – it is Gatorade's origin story. Scientists at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) study athletes around the globe to ensure that Gatorade understands the factors that determine performance and how sports nutrition can help them reach their potential like no other sports brand in the world. GSSI's findings are used to discover the latest credible research, unlock insights and help develop hydration and sports nutrition products that help maximize athlete performance.

Leveraging the GSSI research on football players such as Messi and Suárez, Gatorade has developed their first ever sport-specific product, Gatorade Football Energy. Gatorade Football Energy was developed for football players from amateur to professional levels and has a combination of carbohydrates, electrolytes and fluid, specifically for football players. The product is available to all U.S. athletes on Gatorade.com and will be available in retail outlets in Mexico and Brazil in 2018 before launching in other Latin American countries. The new product comes in three great flavors: Lemon, Mango and Orange.

"As the sports fuel leader, Gatorade's mission to help athletes perform at their best remains our focus," said Emiliano Di Vincenzo, General Manager, Gatorade International. "With science as our foundation and improved performance as our goal, we are pushing the boundaries of hydration, nutrition, technology and delivery systems. In recent years we have increased our focus on football and we are working with top players and clubs to help fuel their performance in the same way we have always done with athletes in other sports. In particular, we have been working closely with clubs like the Brazilian National Team, FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Boca Junior, and Corinthians to provide innovative consultation and support to athletes, their coaches, and their sports performance departments in their – often successful – pursuit of championship titles. Working with athletes at the pinnacle of performance such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Gabriel Jesus helps us push the boundaries of hydration and sports nutrition, and develop truly differentiated products for competitive footballers around the globe."

Beyond developing science-backed products for footballers, Gatorade is also providing a stage for amateur players to showcase their skills at a global level. For the third consecutive year, Gatorade is sponsoring and organizing their annual Gatorade 5v5 Football Tournament, which will introduce a women's bracket for the first time this year. Over 2,000 teams from more than 19 countries across Latin America, Europe and North America will compete for a chance to play in the Gatorade 5v5 Global Championship in May in Barcelona, Spain. As in previous years, players from qualifying teams will be able to experience the latest in Gatorade's innovation pipeline, including Gatorade Football Energy.

For more information on the global football campaign, new product and the latest information from the international leader in sports fuel, fans can visit Gatorade.com and the brand's social channels.

About Gatorade
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), provides sports performance innovations designed to meet the needs of athletes at all competitive levels and across a broad range of sports. Backed by more than a 50-year history of studying the best athletes in the world and grounded in years of hydration and sports nutrition research at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Gatorade provides scientifically formulated products to meet the sports fueling needs of athletes in all phases of athletic activity. For more information and a full list of products, please visit www.gatorade.com.

About GSSI
Founded in 1985, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is committed to helping athletes optimize their health and performance through research, education and service in hydration and nutrition science. GSSI's primary objective is to study the effects of nutrition on the human body before, during and after exercise, and lead, enhance and develop sports fuel innovations. For three decades, GSSI has worked with thousands of elite, professional and amateur athletes to evaluate their fueling needs and provide recommendations to help improve their performance. GSSI collaborates with universities and researchers around the world to publish hundreds of peer-reviewed research papers. To help educate athletes, their influencers and the sports science community, GSSI provides educational materials, research news and various sports resources. For more information, please visit www.gssiweb.org.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2017, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world enable PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE The Gatorade Company