• by Danielle Oster , April 22, 2025

Pepsi may no longer be a sponsoring partner for the Super Bowl halftime show, but the company snagged the show’s most recent performer for a new campaign.

Kendrick Lamar stars in a “Lose More. Win More” campaign for Gatorade, following a Super Bowl LIX performance that reached a record average audience of 133.5 million viewers across platforms during the performance.

After opening with footage of the Philadelphia Eagles’ recent Super Bowl win, the ad shifts from victory to loss, with Lamar asking, “How much are you willing to lose?,” eventually moving to the question “How much sweat are you willing to lose?” leading to black-and-white images of athletes sweating Gatorade-like orange drops. The spot sets Lamar’s song “Peekaboo” from his recent “GNX” album to footage of athletes including WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson, NBA stars Jayson Tatum and Luka Doni, and Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

The campaign kicked off last weekend for the NBA playoffs. According to Billboard, Lamar’s appearance marks the first time a musician has starred in a Gatorade campaign. It also arrived as Lamar kicked off his “Grand National Tour” with SZA.

“Lose More. Win More.” follows Gatorade’s campaign last year reviving its iconic “Is It In You?” tagline, and similarly features star athletes sweating in Gatorade colors. Entitled “IT Hasn’t Changed,” the effort represented Gatorade’s largest-ever marketing campaign, according to the PepsiCo brand.

That investment may have paid off. According to PepsiCo’s prepared remarks during an earnings call on Q4 and 2024 results, Gatorade gained market share last year. The latest campaign exemplifies the company’s strategic marketing investments in the beverage category, designed to  “elevate and prioritize our focus on attractive segments of the category – such as zero sugar, functional hydration, and sports nutrition, while also optimizing our resources to focus on fewer, larger initiatives.”