Anything You Can Do… Again

Anything Gatorade has done, it can do better (or at least again) in a new ad that revives the classic theme of its 90s ads starring Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm. This time, it’s Usain Bolt and Abby Wambach facing off at a variety of sports and physical activities—though the original stars make a cameo too. Watch now.

Plus, anything those two can do, moms can do better. Moms are the toughest athletes, says a new Nike campaign, which rolls out ahead of the release of its new maternity line.

After SXSW was canceled at the last minute in 2020, plans for the event froze completely. Now, the event will be revived—but in virtual form for the first time, opening the door for more international participants and expanding the potential for big-name speakers, which will include Stacey Abrams, Pete Buttigieg, Willie Nelson and more. Its iconic and creative activations may not be the same in a virtual setting, but the spirit of the event will live on—and marketers are going all out, leveraging innovative VR experiences and transforming Austin into a magical version of itself. 

Plus, the swag arrives at attendees’ doorsteps: Find out how HBO, CNN, Wisconsin Cheese and more are bringing SXSW home.

Jeff Charney, who has been CMO at Progressive since 2010, is stepping down at the beginning of next year. During his tenure, Flo and friends reached their fully fledged, iconic status as the face of the insurance company. Charney, who was honored as an Adweek Brand Genius in 2011, took a few moments to talk with Adweek about these iconic characters and why they’re so integral to the brand’s advertising success.

“People believe in those characters—and, thereby, they believe in the company,” he said.

Streaming services continue to reign supreme, even on the awards’ show circuit, with Netflix sweeping up a record 35 Academy Award nominations and Amazon Prime Video claiming 12. The Netflix drama Mank, directed by David Fincher and starting Gary Oldman, alone claimed 10 Oscar nominations. See the list of nominations and learn what this means for streamers.

But can the Oscars break the awards show slump? Sunday night’s broadcast of the Grammys was the least-watched in the show’s history, drawing only 8.8 million total viewers—a 53% drop from the 2020 audience of 18.7 million and far below the next lowest year (2006) of all time.

Did you miss our virtual Challenger Brands summit? Never fear—Adweek+ subscribers can watch our full collection of the sessions from this iconic event featuring Jennifer Garner, Chance the Rapper, Nicole Richie and many more. Explore the gallery.

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Briefly:

Continuing in a similar thematic vein as its widely lauded “Bounce” ad, Apple’s latest ad for its Airpods Pro, created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, takes us on a journey of jump rope stunts. Once again, the urban setting includes fantastical elements as participants transform the world around them into ropes for the ad’s protagonist to interact with. Watch it now.

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The legacy media company has a new monogram and logo.

Advertising needs moral standards.

The ad stars Reid Demelo, volunteer basketball team manager and Special Olympics athlete.

The campaign is meant to elicit nostalgia for the classic pizza parlor experience.

She reminds us that we deserve to indulge in some sports and takeout.

How the Covid-19 has impacted the marketing industry over the past year.