Seattle Seahawks player Jimmy Graham stars in chilling Powerade ad
Powerade has released the latest installment of its ‘Just a Kid’ campaign that launched earlier this year with a video called ‘Churn’ that tells the story of how Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham got to where he is today.
The powerful video comes as NFL season kicks off and follows the release of rival Gatorade’s ‘Sweat it to Get it’ campaign, created by TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, that stars Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
In the 60-second Powerade ad, the story of Graham’s rough upbringing is told through visuals of what he endured as a child: living in a North Carolina orphanage, facing violence, and training hard to try and build a better life for himself.
A voiceover compares Graham’s life to the story a mouse who finds himself drowning in a bucket of cream.
“Now most mice would just give up. But not this mouse. This mouse was different,” it says.
“He had a fight in him. And eventually all that fighting churned that cream into butter. And he simply climbed out.”
Wieden + Kennedy Portland created the video, which ends with the tagline ‘We’re all just a kid from somewhere.’
In February, Powerade launched its ‘Just a Kid’ campaign with a similar video featuring Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose.