Shots Heard on the Mountain

As I've mentioned before, I'm an Olympics fan. I joined several friends last Friday for an Opening Ceremony party complete with "ethnic" food trays (alright, so really we just tried to justify how pigs-in-a-blanket could be considered foreign; I think we settled on wrapped frankfurters...). I was pleased with the ceremony-the led effects were really cool- but one thing in particular struck me while I was watching.....what on earth is a biathlon?!?!?! Many of the flag bearers for multiple countries were biathletes, a sport I had never heard mention of before.

In case you're wondering, as I was, the biathlon is an event where skiiers do a cross country circuit, stop at a shooting range, then take off skiing once again for the finish line.

Apparently, the event has been a part of the winter Olympics since 1955. I won't dispute the athleticism needed for the event; I cannot imagine the stability one needs to hold the rifle still after having completed a difficult skiing course. But the event seems so...random! I would never think of skiing and shooting as a possible combination for elite athletes to take part in.

Oh, and just an fyi, the US hasn't medal, yet, in the biathlon. But the next event is scheduled for tomorrow- fingers crossed that they ski fast and hit their mark!

Tonight, millions viewed the annual, infamous Super Bowl ads. As a whole, I couldn't tell you if they were overall good or bad (all I can picture right now is a ton of screaming chickens).

There is one ad that has caught my attention- the Google "Parisian Love" ad.

Immediately after the ad was aired, I witnessed two different reactions to the ad. The first reaction was from a girl at the same party as I. From another room, we heard a squeal of delight followed by the exclamation that it was the "sweetest" ad she had ever seen and it made her want to cry with happiness. A few seconds later, I received a text from my friend Josh saying "Does Google really need to advertise? Their name has become a verb..."

Good point. So what is the reasoning behind Google advertising during the Super Bowl? Google has become a part of everyday speech. You'd be hard pressed to find some one in the US who does not know how to "google" something. The Super Bowl ad was Google's maiden voyage into tv advertising, but is it honestly necessary to shell out millions of dollars for a 30 second spot to advertise something that the majority of Americans use multiple times a day without conscious thought?

"G," I Sure Wish They Had More Options...

For my analysis paper, I'm looking into the phenomenon of sports performance products for the "everyday" athlete. To get in the mood for this topic, I decided to take a look at the Gatorade website.

First, I have never looked at the website, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Right now, the first image you will see when entering the site is a promotion for the Super bowl this weekend. Great. Football. My favorite.... Then you have the audio clip of Muhammad Ali's famous "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Iconic of sports, yes, I know, but annoying when you can't mute it and it's overpowering your Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven" BBC Live rendition. Ugh, there it goes again.... Gatorade is not winning me over quickly.

Anyway, back to performance products. Gatorade has been a leader in the sports drink industry for decades. Remember when this was the main focus of Gatorade's image?
Lightning bolt-electricity-electrolytes, got it! Simple as that. Though the lightning bolt still shows up, it's not as prominent.

Now your eye is drawn to this:

What is "G?!" Why is there a "G" TV series? Why does the website ask what your "G Moment" is? From what I gather, the "G Series" is a line of even higher quality performance products. You have a pre-"G" (sustained energy gel), the "G" performance drink, and then a post-"G" (recovery drink). I feel that Gatorade is trying to branch out of its traditional sports drink persona and into an even larger athletic market. But really, some clarification would help. Otherwise you walk into the grocery store aisle and are greeted by this. And if you're anything like me, you stare at it for five minutes, become frazzled because you don't know what "G" fits your "athletic performance" and walk away without your "G."

Ooooh! Look! Water!