Be Like Mike! Jordan and Eminem Fuel Gatorade's Nostalgia Play

A week marked by trips down memory lane ends on a high note thanks to Gatorade. Eminem serves as emcee, and his 2010 track “Won’t Back Down” bubbles up, too. But the rapper’s participation is just one nostalgic element of a :30 from the PepsiCo brand.

We’re also treated to way-back commercial footage of Michael Jordan—with the “Be Like Mike” jingle reverberating from more than 30 years ago to rock our brainpans.

Titled “The Way to Be Great,” and developed with TBWAChiatDay L.A., the spot serves as a bridge between generations, a merging of past, present and future. Clips of sports legends in their prime segue into footage of contemporary athletes. Along with M.J., Serena Williams and Lionel Messi appear, plus Jayson Tatum, Elena Delle Donne, Sydney McLaughlin and more.

It’s basically a clip show, but done so right. A cultural continuum spanning decades unfolds—like some river of commerce, flowing to the sea, carrying us along for the ride. (Way to twist an obscure metaphor! Still, it fits.)

“We know our brand has everything athletes need to fuel Greatness,” says Anuj Bhasin, chief brand officer at Gatorade. “We have fueled the greatest athletes of all time over the last 60 years, and ‘The Way to Be Great’ is an anthemic campaign meant to bring to life what greatness has been, and what greatness looks like in the future.”

The work breaks today during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. it and will also run during the league’s draft, as well as in WNBA games and during College Baseball World Series coverage.

For more nostalgic moves (all from recent days!), check out Muse’s takes on AAA Insurance (with boy band vets), Sprite (they remixed “Rapper’s Delight”), Jack in the Box (Snoop Dogg’s in the house with a classic hit), Goldfish (updating Lisa Loeb’s “Stay”), and non-musical throwbacks from Burger King and McDonald’s.

CREDITS

CLIENT – GATORADE
Chief Brand Officer: Anuj Bhasin
Head of Consumer Engagement: Brandi Ray
Consumer Engagement Director: Oliver Schrickel
Brand Campaign Senior Marketing Manager: Sydney Melville Brand 
Campaign Marketing Associate Manager: Alex Podges 
Gatorade Sports Marketing Director: Kyle Grote
Gatorade Sports Marketing Senior Manager: Keri Lockett 
Gatorade Sports Marketing Senior Manager: Natalie Jones 
Gatorade Sports Marketing Manager: Rachel Condelli
Gatorade Sports Marketing Manager: Megan Koehnemann 
Gatorade Sports Marketing Associate Manager: Connor Wudrick 
APR Cost Consultants: Sharon Groh, Sheila Flaherty

AGENCY – TBWACHIATDAY L.A.
Executive Creative Director: Desmond Marzette 
Group Creative Director: Mark Peters
Associate Creative Director – Art: Johnross 
Post Associate Creative Director – Copy: Max Schein 
Chief Design Officer: Bruno Regalo
Associate Creative Director Design: Thiago Matsunaga
Senior Project Manager: Alice Pavlisko
Director of Content Production: Anh-Thu Le
Sr. Producer: Alyson Buoncristiani
Design Production Manager: Alessandra Horn 
Brand Director, Design: Monica Gelbecke 
Director of Business Affairs: Robin Rossi 
Associate BA Director: Jennifer Anaya
Jr. BA Manager: Annabel Turrado
Talent Payment Manager: Vanessa Contreras 
Director of Traffic Operations: Dessiah Davis 
Sr. Traffic Operations Manager: Judy Brill
Sr. Brand Director: Robyn Morris
Account Director: Gabriela Marino 
Management Supervisor: Audrey Sigel
Sr. Account Executive: Javier Hernandez
Executive Strategy Director: Scott MacMaster 
Group Strategy Director: Martin Ramos 
Associate Strategy Director: Ryan Hagen 
Strategist: Trés Jones
Head of Connections Planning: Stephanie Ehui
Connections Strategy Director: David Heiser

PRODUCTION – 1st Ave Machine
Director: Sebastian Rodrigo Sanz
Director: Hernan Aragunde
Partner & Executive Producer: Sam Penfield 
Executive Producer: Ella Nuortila
Head of Production: Mariajose Garica London 
Line Producer: Elizabeth Collins

POST PRODUCTION – 1st Ave Machine Bueno Aires
Director: Diego Berakha
Executive Producer: Sabrina Elizondo 
Post EP BA: Alejandro Sparano
Line Producer: Michelle Wejcman 
Coordinator: Nicolas Meiorin
Coordinator: Diego Atencio 
Coordinator: Romina Vanney 
Coordinator: Martin Camji Pfeiffer
Editor: Mauro Caporossi 
Editor: Lucas D’alo
Designer: Diego Berakha 
Designer: Sebastián Sarmiento 
Designer: Adolfo Correa 
Designer: Carlos Fernandez
2D Animation: Diego Berakha
2D Animation: Sebastián Sarmiento 
2D Animation: Adolfo Correa
2D Animation: Carlos Fernandez 
2D Animation: Matias Petroli
Composition: PIMBA! VFX
Conform: Andres Montero 
Bustamante Conform: MAWI
VFX Supervisor: Diego Gambarotta
VFX On Set Supervisor: Ernesto Cespedes

COLOR
Colorist: David Castañón Pesquera

SOUND DESIGN / MIX
Lime Studios
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan 
Mixer / Sound Design: Zac Fisher 
Assistant Mixer: Klaudia Bennett