Powerade on Thursday (Dec. 5) announced The Athletes Code, a contractual provision that enables athletes to pause their partnership commitments to deal with mental health without losing their sponsorship, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The program is an extension of the Coca-Cola brand’s “Pause is Power” platform that encourages athletes to take a break and are available back stronger.
“The Athletes Code is, for us, a first-of-its-kind commitment to be more inclusive and progressive by way of the relationships that now we have, and it also allows for the athlete partners to be protected by way of wherever they’re and the space that they’re in,” said Matrona Filippou, president of the worldwide hydration, sports, coffee and tea category for The Coca‑Cola Company.
The program, which covers all of Powerade’s athlete partners, is launching with Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup Champion Alex Morgan, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Tatjana Smith, South African footballer Linda Motlhalo and Brazilian Paralympic swimmer Douglas Matera. Those athletes are featured in a moving 3-minute hero film that was developed by Ogilvy New York and directed by Babak Khoshnoud.
“As a part of our partnership with Powerade, it was our ambition to construct an initiative that captures the holistic athlete mindset — not only the moments of glory, however the on a regular basis grind,” said Guillermo Vega, global creative network lead at Ogilvy, in a press release. “Interacting with Athletes when and where they need probably the most. Outside of the cameras and the celebrity. Supporting them daily after they train and endure the physical and after they face mental challenges to perform at their maximum level.”
The Athletes Code will cover additional athletes from countries including Australia, Chile, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea. The program was created by WPP Open X, led by Ogilvy and supported by agencies Burson, EssenceMediaCom, Hogarth, Village Marketing and VML.
A growing trend
Many brands in recent times have put mental health and the well-being of athletes at the middle of their marketing. The trend responds to changing consumer attitudes and as former stigmas across the topic have subsided. Powerade since 2022 has iterated on its “Pause is Power” platform, which seeks to challenge the “win in any respect costs” mentality common in sports.
The brand earlier this 12 months launched a worldwide campaign timed to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Along with an emotional spot featuring iconic gymnast Simone Biles that focused on her own pause from competition, the campaign included an Olympics Village experience that sought to provide athletes with an area for recovery and respite. The Athletes Code grew out of the conversations with athletes and consumers which have driven the “Pause is Power” work.
“Athletes have had, over the previous few years, loads more courage to have the option to speak up on this topic and truly not be shunned,” Filippou said. “It’s not frowned upon when athletes now actually raise their voice and say, ‘I would like to take a break,’ or ‘I’m just in an area where I cannot perform my best, and I would like to just step away after which come back stronger.’”
The Athletes Code allows Powerade to further support its athletes, nevertheless it is not without its costs for the corporate when it comes to shooting and releasing marketing work.
“In instances where the athletes have chosen to take a pause, we fully respected it, and we’ve stepped back,” Filippou said. “Sometimes, are there impacts there? Yes, absolutely, nevertheless it’s a risk that we prepare to take.”
For example, Powerade has worked with Biles even when it wasn’t clear if the gymnast would ever return to competition. But respecting athletes and their mental health with The Athletes Code isn’t purpose-washing.
“If the partner doesn’t come back, I believe the story becomes even stronger, because we’re willing to stand by partners at any given time, whether or not they perform and go get their gold medal or actually select not to go on to perform, but they’ve a really different story to tell and so they change into an on a regular basis athlete that does something different,” Filippou said.
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