Gatorade sues Powerade over advertising

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Gatorade, the energy drink for the tough kids on the playground, is suing Powerade, the other energy drink for the tough kids on the playground, for making fun of it in an advertising campaign.

PepsiCo Inc., which owns Gatorade, sued Coca-Cola Co., which owns Powerade, for a marketing campaign that urges consumers not to settle for an ‘incomplete’ energy drink. The ads, some of which can be found on Powerade’s website, show a bottle that looks suspiciously like a Gatorade bottle, but without a label. Consumers are told that the drink is missing two electrolytes -- calcium and magnesium.

Powerade’s magazine ads were also criticized by the American Society of Magazine Editors, according to Ad Age, for misusing magazine covers for advertising purposes. The ESPN cover was half-blank, stating ‘You wouldn’t settle for an incomplete cover,’ and on the inside, ‘Then don’t settle for an incomplete drink.’

The campaign also is appearing on billboards and online.

Gatorade has a 77% share of the market, compared with Powerade’s 22%, according to Beverage Digest, an industry publication. Both have embarked on rebranding campaigns lately, with Gatorade changing its bottles to prominently feature a ‘G’ and Powerade releasing a drink called Powerade ION 4, which is the star of the ad campaign.

The lawsuit asks a New York judge to force Powerade to pull its ads immediately, alleging that the campaign is ‘a calculated, intentional strategy designed to falsely and viciously attack the readily identifiable market leader, Gatorade.’

-- Alana Semuels