Gatorade continues to invest in Caitlin Clark amid her impressive rookie season. The company unveiled another banner in Indianapolis this week at the JW Marriott downtown.
The latest promo is part of Gatorade’s “Is It In You?” campaign, which debuted late last month during the NBA Playoffs. Clark is one of a slew of athletes featured in the ad – narrated by the legendary Michael Jordan, who starred in the original promotion in the 1990s – and joined forces with Gatorade through NIL at the college level.
Clark and the Indiana Fever are in the middle of a West Coast road trip, which continued last night with a loss to the Seattle Storm. But she continues to be perhaps the biggest draw in town, and the latest banner overlooks downtown Indianapolis.
This isn’t the first time Gatorade unveiled a banner featuring Clark in Indianapolis. The first one went up in mid-May at the Hyatt Regency ahead of her home debut at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Now, as the company ramps up its “Is It In You?” promotion, another one is at the JW Marriott.
Clark is in the midst of an impressive first year in the WNBA, averaging 16.2 points to go with 5.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists through her first 19 games. Thursday night against the Storm, she added 15 points, six boards and seven dimes as the Fever fell 89-77 for their second straight loss. Indiana is now 7-12 on the year.
More on Caitlin Clark’s partnership with Gatorade
Gatorade and Clark joined forces in December 2023 as part of a multi-year deal, and the company also agreed to commit $22,000 to the Caitlin Clark Foundation as part of the deal. She was just the second college basketball player to partner with the company through NIL, along with UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
After heading to the WNBA, Clark became a central part of the return of the “Is It In You?” ads. Narrated by Jordan, the list of athletes also includes Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson and incoming Florida quarterback DJ Lagway. Lagway was the Gatorade National Player of the Year this past season and is on board through an NIL deal.
“As the brand that has been on the sidelines fueling athletes for decades, we’re committed to not only helping them stay in the game but also celebrating their unique ‘IT’,” said Anuj Bhasin, Gatorade Chief Brand Officer, in a statement. “The return of ‘Is It In You?’, our biggest campaign of all time, is about acknowledging how much the sports landscape has changed, while reminding athletes that one thing hasn’t – the inner drive that fuels you – and that’s what matters most.”
WNBA TV viewership continues upward trend
While she was at Iowa, Clark’s games drew record-setting viewership on TV, according to Sports Media Watch. That trend is continuing in the WNBA, which has seen multiple big-time draws for Fever games.
Clark’s May 14 debut against the Sun set the table with 2.12 million people tuning in to ESPN2. Then, the next game against a loaded New York Liberty team drew 1.71 million people on ABC, and the rematch against Connecticut averaged 1.56 million on ESPN.
The Fever then set new records on ION and NBA TV before the Liberty vs. the Minnesota Lynx drew 704,000 viewers, which was then the record for CBS. Of course, that record fell last week. As for ION, Indiana’s victory over the Washington Mystics took the top spot June 7, with 102 million people tuning in.
Clark’s budding rivalry with Angel Reese is also generating excitement. The Fever’s June 16 matchup with the Chicago Sky averaged 2.25 million people tuned in to CBS for the Fever’s second victory over the Sky earlier this month. That became the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years – and they eclipsed that mark a week later when 2.3 million watched Reese and the Sky come back to defeat the Fever on ESPN.
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