Welcome to The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights that covers the latest must-know news surrounding the CPG space.
Gatorade reboots “Is It In You?” in largest campaign ever, featuring Michael Jordan, Caitlin Clark and others
Featuring pro athletes including WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark, NBA star Jayson Tatum and track star Syndey McLaughlin-Levrone, Gatorade’s new “It Hasn’t Changed” campaign brings back the brand’s “Is It In You?” tagline as well as a memorable visual element — colored beads of sweat — as Ad Age’s Jon Springer reports. Debuting in 1998, the “Is It In You?” campaign starred Michael Jordan, Springer notes, adding that the basketball legend returns in the new ad as the narrator before appearing on screen at the very end to ask “Gatorade, is it in you?” Gatorade Chief Brand Officer Anuj Bhasin tells Ad Age that “It Hasn’t Changed” will be “the single biggest brand campaign” — spanning linear TV, digital, social and out-of-home — in Gatorade history.
See also: “Gatorade launches new membership platform focused on personalization,” as we noted in the Feb. 9 edition of this column.
Sheba’s humorous new ads highlight cat rejections of owner efforts
Mars-owned pet food brand Sheba has launched a new campaign meant to “capture the over-the-top dedication of some pet parents — and the familiar feeling of rejection if they fail to make their felines happy,” Adweek’s Samantha Nelson reports. An expansion of the brand’s “Resistance is Futile” campaign, the campaign’s spots show owners offering new toys to their cats (e.g., a fish plush) only to face rejection (“All they want is Sheba,” per the spots). The spots will run across TV and social, with related digital out-of-home placements planned.
See also: “Petco Love launches animated campaign to help lost pets,” as we noted in last week’s edition of The Week in Retail.
Welch’s launches new beverage Grape’ade
Welch’s this week announced the launch of Welch’s Grape’ade, a juice beverage made with Niagara green grapes and no added sugar. Available in three flavors — strawberry, mango and green grape — Grape’ade boasts half the sugar of competing ’ades and is free from artificial colors and sweeteners. The launch is being supported by a campaign with the tagline “Got the Quenchies? Grab a Grape’ade.” Publix stores in the Southeast U.S. will be the first to stock the beverage starting this weekend, with a national rollout set for early 2025. “Grape’ade embodies our commitment to providing delicious, high-quality products that cater to evolving and diverse consumer preferences, even if it means creating an entirely new type of beverage to meet their needs,” says Chris Kwiat, Vice President of Marketing Communication & Innovation at Welch’s.
Further reading
CPG launches and partnerships:
- “SimplyProtein debuts protein-packed tortilla chips” (Drug Store News)
- “M&M’s Just Announced a Brand-New Flavor Fit for the Fall” (Food & Wine)
- “Domino’s, Uber Eats team up to give away $10 million in free pizza: Here’s how to get one” (USA Today)
CPG operations and expansions:
- “Ben & Jerry’s Packaging Rebrand Prompts Digital Asset Management Overhaul” (Consumer Goods Technology)
CPG trends:
- ICYMI: “Experimentation with label-less containers advances, but not without visual challenges” (Packaging Dive)
CPG campaigns and promotions:
- “Inside Pepsi’s food-focused marketing” (Ad Age)
- “Heinz ‘No Taste’ Test Asks Fans to Review Pickle Ketchup Before Trying It” (Adweek)
CPG performance:
- “Gains in traceability, recycling come at Ferrero” (Banking Business)
