Gatorade’s creative strategy “only what’s inside matters” aimed to show the internal world of athletes alongside the external world.

How could the brand leverage its most iconic visual device—Gatorade sweat—to bring back its famous tagline in a new and modern way?

The campaign effectively paid off its strategy by creating two distinct looks: the internal world of the focused athlete and the external world seen by everyone else.

To achieve this effect, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA developed a unique prism rig capable of shooting action with two separate cameras: one film, one with cutting-edge infrared technology. The IR cameras picked up different frequencies of light, rendering the same scene in a distinct black and white look, allowing each scene to be lit in two different ways without interfering with each other.

By blending 35mm film onto the IR footage, they added grit and humanity. Then, using careful attention, the team then rotoscoped the sweat on the B+W footage in post-production, changing the color to match the product the athlete was drinking.