Powerade had been competing in the sports drink category for the last 30 years, but it was still seen as a poor substitute for Gatorade, with a 16% market share in the US to Gatorade's 69%.

The critical problem: Powerade hadn’t established an inspiring or consistent reason-for-being in the world.

In order to turn their fate, Powerade looked to shift their focus to Gen Z, the younger generation of “renegades” who wanted to “power life beyond the win” by “being real,” “shaking up the system,” and “living life out loud” (2021 Powerade Brand Architecture).

With this new focus, Powerade hoped to champion these “Open Hearted Renegades” to become the David to Gatorade’s Goliath.

PAUSE IS POWER.

A creative platform that supports athletes' mental health.

In a world that glorifies the “go, go, go, push, push, push, never stop” mentality that perpetuates a toxic culture of winning at all costs, Powerade wants people to know, feel, and believe that taking a pause is not a sign of weakness, but an act of power that will bring them back stronger.

So we partnered with the perfect person to inspire a generation of young athletes around the world: SIMONE BILES - who became famous for taking a stand for mental health at the Tokyo Olympic Games - and some other famous athletes joined to show the world how to take a pause in a lighthearted way.

Then, we walked the talk by starting a program to donate scholarships to make sure athletes could pause for real.

The platform is currently growing around the globe.

The “go go go, push push push” mentality of fighting through the grind to get to greatness at all costs – made aspirational by sports marketers like Gatorade and Nike throughout the years – had become the bedrock virtue of the sports world.

And yet, a younger generation of athletes was beginning to question this "win at all costs" mentality. It was a cultural awakening that goes beyond sports, underpinned by the recognition that mental health is physical health.

The strategy is to champion an alternate school of thought: The new way to win isn't in the "push," it's in the "pause." In the push for performance, pausing isn't a sign of weakness. Choosing when and how you take a pause to be human first - to be playful, to celebrate, to claim your own space - helps you rethink, replenish, and re-energize so you can come back stronger.

The PAUSE IS POWER platform launched in March 2022 during the March Madness championship in the US and rolled out globally shortly after that.

By using film, OOH social and brand acts, people from all age groups and all social backgrounds were addressed. Due to TV stations using our platform to initiating panel discussions about mental health PAUSE IS POWER is an ongoing topic and will stay there also during summer when all big sports events as the World Championships in Athletics will happen. An important message that will bring the world of sports closer together.

As part of this new launch, Powerade activated the "Press Pause" program, which made monetary contributions to athletes in need of a pause moment within the USA.

A TIMELY MESSAGE THAT DROVE POLARIZATION AND INSPIRED OWNERSHIP

Worldwide, this message reached 2, 39 BN people, with 642 MM media impression and 9 MM social media impressions, 8.42 MM of which were in the US. It was picked up as a timely, resonant message on mental health within the sports and entertainment industry.

Most importantly, it offered the much-needed alternative to the prevailing philosophy that pausing is an act of weakness and drove the polarization we were hoping for: People were speaking up in favor of or against the message in emotionally invested ways – and even comparing it to the “opposite” message from Gatorade and Nike.

As the power of the pause takes shape as a topic to be debated, we are all one step closer to finding a healthier approach to sports. And Powerade is stepping out beyond the shadows of the old vanguard of sports marketing.