TBWAChiatDay Sends Off Yankees Captain for Gatorade

TBWAChiatDay bids adieu to Yankees captain (and regular starting shortstop since 1996) Derek Jeter in a 90-second send-off spot for Gatorade, an MLB sponsor since 1990.

While there has been no shortage of fanfare surrounding Jeter’s exit from baseball at the quickly approaching end to the season (including a somewhat excessive display at the All Star game), TBWAChiatDay’s farewell for Gatorade, which Jeter collaborated on, manages to charm. Back in July (when it still looked like the Yankees had a shot at the postseason), TBWAChiatDay and Gatorade roped off a few blocks before a home game in the Bronx and, in the words of Molly Carter, Gatorade’s senior director of consumer engagement, “just kind of let Jeter go.”

Jeter is seen interacting with some very surprised and excited fans, signing autographs and even dropping in to Stan’s Sports Bar. Most of the spot’s charm comes from the authentic reactions of the fans, delighted by the opportunity to meet the star player.

Jeter’s collaboration for the ad also extended to the soundtrack, with the shortstop choosing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as the song that summed up his career. “It was a true collaboration between Derek and Gatorade,” Carter told Adweek.

The spot breaks online today, followed by a broadcast premiere this Saturday on the YES Network and Fox, when it’s sure to make more than a few Yankees fans teary-eyed. Gatorade will follow this with a full-page ad, written by Jeter, in the New York Daily News and Sports Illustrated on Sept. 28-29. Addressed to New York, the ad will see Jeter thanking fans for their years of support, opening, “From my first at bat until my final out, you helped make me who I am.” The print ad is timed to coincide with Jeter’s final game on September 28th (unless the team makes the playoffs, which they won’t). (more…)

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Geico Reveals Hump Day Humor… on Hump Day

While you’re battling Wednesday workdays at the office, Geico has a new addition to their “Happier Than” campaign that gives a literal visual representation to Hump Day. Yes, a camel, with humps. The camel’s coworkers don’t look thrilled with their humped friend running through channels of cubicles and interrupting their productivity. Wednesdays should be a time of cautious optimism – by the end of the day, a majority of the week will be finished – but these guys look like they just got demoted.

The Hump Day spot – created by the insurance brand’s longtime ally The Martin Agency – won’t be going up on the Mount Rushmore of  ”Happier Than” ads. That space is reserved for Dikembe Mutombo‘s supermarket exploits and Eddie Money’s entrepreneurial skills, commercials that dealt with clever concepts that riffed on pop culture. “Hump Day” is more of a cheesy pun dragging itself over 30 seconds of airtime. Re-strum the banjo, there’s always next time. A ridiculously long credit list awaits after the jump.

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