<\/p>\n
Serena Williams wore the same pair of socks until she lost during tournaments. Mia Hamm had to tie her right shoelace over her left when she was lacing up her cleats. And LeBron James is famously superstitious.<\/p>\n
Athletes from pick-up players to pros have their sacred pregame rituals, or \u201cmoments of pause,\u201d as Matrona Filippou, Coca-Cola\u2019s president for the global category of hydration, sports, coffee, and tea, calls them. And so do La Liga\u2019s Lamine Yamal and Rodrygo Goes, the two newest additions to Powerade\u2019s sponsorship roster.<\/p>\n
Yamal and Goes are both front and center in the latest campaign under Powerade\u2019s \u201cPause is Power\u201d platform, which is focused on supporting athletes\u2019 mental health and was inspired by Simone Biles\u2019s decision to temporarily step away from competition during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n
In the new ads, both soccer players are shown finding moments of reflection ahead of competing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really wanted to showcase how impactful that moment is in terms of how they prepare, how they hydrate, how their whole focus\u2026comes together at a critical time to unlock their peak performance,\u201d Filippou told Marketing Brew. \u201cSince we started \u2018Pause is Power\u2019 in 2022, the shift has been from education, to celebration, to emphasizing that pause isn\u2019t a weakness, but a strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to building on \u201cPause is Power,\u201d the campaign marks a push from the brand to get more involved with soccer ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n
Pregame:<\/strong> Powerade\u2019s latest campaign features two short films, both running globally on social, digital, broadcast, and out-of-home platforms. The film centered on Yamal is titled \u201cThe 304,\u201d a reference to his hometown neighborhood of Rocafonda in Spain; its postal code is 08304, and the FC Barcelona player gestures \u201c304\u201d with his fingers to celebrate goals. In the spot, he imagines himself sitting on top of a wall in Rocafonda to get inspired before a game.<\/p>\n