Gatorade Sweats the Competition | Defending the Title | 3
Business Wars
Audible
4.6 • 13.5K Ratings
🗓️ 11 March 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As the 1990s come to a close, Gatorade has become an established powerhouse brand, thanks to a 25-year head start and the star power of their spokesperson Michael Jordan. But the millennium brings fresh challenges to Gatorade’s dominance. Coca-Cola goes on the offensive, investing millions in their competing product, Powerade. And Powerade’s rise is only the beginning of Gatorade’s woes. As the science of sports drinks evolves, can Gatorade still keep up with its younger rivals?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's January 1999. |
| 0:16.0 | A crowd of reporters is packed into the United Center Arena, home of the Chicago Bulls. |
| 0:21.9 | ESPN is broadcasting live, and the cameras are rolling. |
| 0:25.9 | Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan leans into the microphone and makes an announcement. |
| 0:31.7 | I am here to announce my retirement from the game of basketball. |
| 0:35.9 | Yep, that's right. |
| 0:38.3 | This is his second retirement. |
| 0:40.3 | It's a massive moment for the world of sports and the world of advertising. |
| 0:46.3 | Jordan is 35 years old and earning a reported $42 million a year in sponsorships, |
| 0:52.3 | from Wheaties to Haynes to Sarah Lee and Gatorade. |
| 0:58.1 | Across America, marketing executives are worried about how Jordan's retirement will play out for |
| 1:03.2 | their brands, but Gatorade's parent company, Quaker Oates, is prepared. |
| 1:08.7 | They already have a transition campaign in the works, including a spot that pairs |
| 1:13.5 | Jordan with soccer phenom Mia Hamm. Future campaigns will expand their roster even further, |
| 1:19.7 | featuring world-class athletes like quarterback Peyton Manning, shortstop Derek Jeter, and more. |
| 1:26.2 | Think of this as Jordan, once Gatorade's exclusive spokesperson, |
| 1:31.1 | passing the torch to the next generation of athletes. |
| 1:34.6 | The first time Michael retired back in 1993, |
| 1:38.6 | it caught everyone off guard. |
| 1:40.7 | But Gatorade rolled with the punches. |
| 1:43.3 | They shelved ads featuring Jordan in his Bulls jersey and pivoted to new campaigns that followed him into minor league baseball. |
| 1:50.8 | And when there were whispers that Jordan might be unretiring in 1995, Gatorade responded with a mysterious ad featuring Michael climbing a mountain in search of the meaning of life. |
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