Gatorade using Mexican NFL player in new campaign

Gatorade is launching an advertising campaign featuring NFL player Rolando Cantú, the first student from a Mexican university to play in the NFL. This campaign marks the first time Gatorade will focus on one sport using a Latino, Marketing y Medios reports.

While it's not surprising, or novel, that Gatorade would target the Hispanic population using a Hispanic, what I am a bit surprised about is that they chose the NFL route as their debut rather than another sport that broadly appeals to the Hispanic masses like boxing, baseball or the real "football," the one that is actually played with your feet using a round ball.

I did play both sports growing up, and while I have always loved the feeling of knocking someone flat on their butt in football and still watch the NFL with regularity, the passion and love for futbol always took priority. Don't bother me during the World Cup. Further, my family, and most Latinos I know, actually term U.S.footballl "el juego de los brutos," which directly translates as "the game of the brutes" since it is a physical sport. They deplore football for its violence. But, to be honest, I have never understood this sentiment since all of them love boxing!

The spot apparently will have Cantú recounting how he was told he was not big enough to play in the NFL, as a way to demonstrate to Hispanic immigrants that it is possible to succeed here, the article reports a Gatorade statement as saying.

Sounds like a good correlation. I'm just thankful this wasn't an "If I could be like Miguel" campaign!