Pepsi switches marketing gears for Gatorade, Tropicana

CHICAGO Marketing efforts for two of PepsiCo’s major brands, Gatorade and Tropicana, will fall into new hands, the company said yesterday. The Arnell Group of New York will now handle Tropicana and TBWA\Chiat\Day of Playa del Rey, Calif., will take on Gatorade, moving marketing out of the hands of Element 79, the company said. Both of the new groups, as well as Element 79, are controlled by Chicago-based Omnicom Group.

"We're always looking for breakthrough creative, and … are continuously assessing performance from incumbents, as well as other agencies,” the company said in a statement released yesterday.

PepsiCo reportedly spent more than $180 million on its U.S. media campaign for Gatorade last year and almost $30 million on Tropicana, according to a report by Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Element 79, which was created in 2001 to handle Quaker/PepsiCo after the company left Foote, Cone & Belding, also lost three other PepsiCo brands earlier this year: Lays, Propel Fitness Water and Tostitos. But they continue to handle Quaker cereal, rice and snack brands, covering such brands as Cracker Jack, Life cereal, Quaker brand oatmeal and other products.