Gatorade Sales: The Effect of Celebrity Endorsements

Gatorade, the well known brand of sports drink beverages, holds a large percentage of the market share for the sports drink market. PowerAde, its main competitor, does not come close to the numbers put up by Gatorade; this is also mimicked by the large number of Gatorade's celebrity athlete endorsements compared to the 1 major endorser of PowerAde. I found, through analyzing Gatorade's sales numbers and examining the relationship between its celebrity athlete endorsers, that these endorsements have a direct effect on the success of the sales of Gatorade. Comparing these facts and endorsements with those of PowerAde helps to determine if the advertising idea of using celebrity athletes is beneficial to not only Gatorade, but to other companies looking for ways to advertise their product.

The Effect of Celebrity Endorsements on the Sales of Gatorade

Gatorade, the popular sports drink created specifically for athletes, is seemingly everywhere. From commercials, to gas stations, to the sports coolers sitting at the end of benches in professional and prep sports, Gatorade seems to have a lock on the sports drink market. A major source of advertisings for the sports drink is through the use of celebrity endorsements; Gatorade signs contracts with these celebrities, and they, in turn, promote the product. While it seems that the company dominates the market, the numbers must be analyzed to see if the presence of celebrity athlete endorsements (and the large sum contracts that come with them) really has a positive effect on the sales of Gatorade.

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