A spot that makes you think (or drink)

Check out this spot...and when you're done, I'll weigh in with some thoughts:

OK...

1) No mention of Gatorade whatsoever...No URL...No worries or no clue? I totally get the iconic/aspirational quotient of the Gatorade brand: both the bolt and the tagline, "is it in you?" When you go to YouTube, you can see that people have correctly labeled this as Gatorade. So what's the big whoop?

Well, I just wonder to what extent the brand is excluding new prospects in the process. Being self-assured is one thing, but I still feel that there is some unnecessary arrogance and ego here.

Don't get me wrong, I think they have the right to be confident, but I can't help but query the Powerade versus Gatorade AKA Potato versus PotAtoe (sounds better when I say it) factor that represents missed opportunities.

2) On a completely different note, it is remarkable to me how great football (our soccer, your football) commercials are. Period. Especially the US ones (don't worry Ooh-Aah-Cantona, we still love you and Joga Bonita), which wholeheartedly take the challenger brand by the balls and relish every moment of it.

This commercial has soul, chutzpah, attitude, passion and intensity in droves and more importantly...it works; so well in fact, that you might not even have realized that America's Pastime just got hit by a pitch.

My 2-part point is this: why can't other challenger brands emulate this kind of approach and why in general, is it so hard for brands to stick their necks out, have a point of view and take a chance?