Chicago is My Home

17
Apr

PepsiCo Pulls Plug on Gatorade, Tropicana From Chicago-Based Element 79

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – Ending a six-year relationship and threatening the agency’s viability, PepsiCo on Tuesday announced it has pulled creative control of its Gatorade and Tropicana brands from Chicago advertising agency Element 79.

“Gatorade and Tropicana have chosen to end their relationship with Element 79 Partners,” PepsiCo said in its Tuesday statement.

PepsiCo added: “As we look at the businesses today, we believe Gatorade and Tropicana could benefit from a partnership change. In essence, both world-class brands demand new, creative thinking to fuel their growth. We appreciate Element 79 Partners’ stewardship and creative work over the last six years, which have contributed to the success of our brands.”

Gatorade creative duties will now be managed by TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles while Tropicana creative duties will be managed by Arnell in New York.

As convenience-store shelves become crowded with competitors such as Coke-owned Powerade, Gatorade has struggled to maintain market dominance. The brand saw its share shrink by 2.7 percent to 76.3 percent in 2007 while Powerade’s share increased by 2.6 points to 22.7 percent.

By Megan O’Neil