• by Les Luchter , April 14, 2025

Supplement maker Thorne, entering the busy on-the-go electrolyte powder category, launches an ad campaign today featuring Ben Shelton.

The high-ranked American tennis player has been using Thorne products since he turned pro in 2022, the brand’s chief growth officer, Mary Beech, tells Marketing Daily. Indeed, the new commercials feature not only a :30 spot for Thorne’s new Daily Electrolytes (“for optimizing athletic performance”) but additional :30s for the brand’s Creatine (‘for strength, endurance, and muscle performance”) and Magnesium Bisgylcinate (“for muscle relaxation and recovery”).

Those other two products, which join with the electrolytes in a hero :60 spot, have been offered for “a long time,” Beech says, but are now available for the first time in on-the-go packs.

“The on-the-go format is a game-changer for us,” Beech explains. “We want Thorne to be wherever our consumers are -- in their backpacks, handbags and pockets -- so they can fuel their performance anytime, anywhere.”

The commercials, which have also been cut down into :15 and :06 versions, continue a “Thorne For” tagline introduced last month in a sexy Advanced Testosterone spot with the lines “Thorne for performance” “Thorne for confidence” and “Thorne for drive.”

 “‘Thorne For’ is incredibly versatile and will be the overarching platform we use for future campaigns,” says Beech.

With the mention of "clinically studied ingredients,” the brand continues its emphasis on rigorous testing and the fact that it’s “the only supplement manufacturer that collaborates with the Mayo Clinic on health and wellness research.”

Beech says the campaign’s goal is brand awareness: “ensuring more people know Thorne as the leader in science-backed wellness solution…A campaign of this scale is one of the most effective ways to drive that awareness.”

The campaign’s scale includes still assets and is running through June 8 on connected TV (CTV), display, paid search, YouTube, social media and – in 11 top markets – digital out-of-home. The CTV buy includes Prime Video, Amazon STV (which includes Twitch, Fire TV channels, and third-party streaming services), Hulu, Paramount Plus and select live sports programming. 

Adomni handles the media buying for the ads, which were created by Frosty.

There’s also influencer marketing and, in what Beech says is Thorne’s first major consumer activation, “an immersive sampling experience packed with all the bells and whistles” coming to New York City on May 8.

The target audience for the new campaign is Gen Z, although Beech says “the concept of optimal personal performance resonates with a broad spectrum of consumers.”

Thorne joins such players as  Liquid I.V. and Nestlé Health Science’s Nuun in the growing market for electrolyte powders, which promise to help both hydration and recovery. A research report from Market.US published last month puts global sales for the product category at $8.4 billion in 2024, with expected annual growth of 8.1%, to $18.3 billion by 2034.

Flavored powdersheld a dominant position in 2024, Market.US said, with more than 68% of the market. Thorne’s Daily Electrolytes come in three flavors: watermelon, blood orange and mango limeaid.

Also in electrolyte news, a startup called Popoff launched last week with a line of electrolyte-infused popsicles. The brand is initially available at popsoff.com, where it's celebrating with a six-week sweepstakes promotion that will give away five resort vacations for two, valued at up to $4,000 each.