GATORADE MADE IN NY

STRATEGY
For Derek Jeter’s retirement, every brand was going to celebrate him. We had him celebrate New York instead.

OVERVIEW
After 20 years with the Yankees, Jeter announced his was hanging them up. The man who epitomized baseball and the most successful franchise in sports was leaving the game and it made the world stop. There was a palpable feeling of nostalgia for The Captain's career, what he meant for baseball, and what he meant to the city. His retirement felt personal to everyone. We used that momentum to create a pop culture moment. Instead of making a spot about Jeter, we built a moment and delivered a love letter from Jeter to New York City.

EXECUTION
We had him get out of his car and walk the streets of the Bronx to Yankee Stadium. We told no one what we were doing and let it happen. To capture the moment, we brought on documentary director Henry-Alex Rubin. We shot in black and white, followed him with two steadicams, and had one take to get it right.

PROCESS
For this production, everything needed to be real. I wanted the film to speak the modern visual language of A Bronx Tale. I wanted people to watch it and breathe in the neighborhood, the city, and what it felt like for this brief moment of time in pop culture. Jeter was being talked about everywhere - we liked to say he was the most protected human being in NYC at that time. That set the stage for us to plan his walk to Yankee Stadium. Just a simple stroll to the game. We picked him up in the car and started rolling. 90 minutes later it was done.

Several candid images from our shoot are featured in Jeter's autobiography, Unfiltered. Here's a couple of them.