Kendrick Lamar makes history as the first musician to star in a Gatorade ad

Compton-born rap virtuoso Kendrick Lamar, who spent the majority of the past one year in a rap back-and-forth with Canadian rapper Drake, has just made history by starring in Gatorade's latest ad.

The sports beverage giant unveiled its ambitious new "Lose More. Win More." campaign, with Lamar not merely providing narration but making a rare commercial appearance.

The campaign represents "the latest expression of the brand's 'Is It In You?' platform, aimed at inspiring athletes to focus on the inner drive that fuels them." Most notably, the release confirms that Lamar is the first musician ever to feature in a Gatorade campaign—a milestone that adds another remarkable achievement to the rapper's already impressive CV.

The advert, which debuted during the highly-watched NBA Playoffs weekend, features the Grammy-winning artist alongside a constellation of sporting heavyweights including NBA luminaries Luka Dončić, Jason Tatum, WNBA stars A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, as well as prospective NFL draft selection Shedeur Sanders.

Lamar's gravelly timbre guides viewers through Gatorade's origin story, asking the philosophical question, "How much are you willing to lose?" before chronicling the tale of the 1965 University of Florida football team whose dehydration challenges led to the creation of the now-ubiquitous sports drink. The rapper's track "Peekaboo" from his recent album "GNX" provides the sonic backdrop for the advert, with Kendrick himself making a brief yet impactful appearance engaged in physical training.

"Take the '65 Gators. Losing steam, losing players, losing sweat," intones Lamar, his words carrying the weight of a poet. "So they can work more, sweat more. 'Cause when you do that, you can surpass the hype. You can inspire generation after generation."

Those eager to see more of the innovative pairing won't have long to wait, as the press materials tantalizingly hint at a "summer-long blitz" that will "include additional touchpoints with Lamar." What form these "touchpoints" might take remains to be seen, but given Gatorade's history of innovative marketing and Lamar's creative prowess, expectations are understandably high.

The commercial's release prompted a minor social media kerfuffle when claims circulated that legendary rapper Lil Wayne, not Lamar, had broken ground as the first rapper to appear in a Gatorade advert. The assertion was quickly debunked by fact-checkers who noted that while Wayne did indeed provide voiceover for the brand's 2009 "What's G?" campaign—which featured sporting legends Venus Williams and Michael Jordan—he never physically appeared in the advertisements, marking a technical distinction with Lamar's on-screen cameo.

Lamar's involvement comes as part of Gatorade's revitalised "Is It In You?" campaign, which was relaunched with considerable fanfare in 2024 and continues into 2025. The revamped campaign has already produced several high-profile advertisements that have captured the sporting public's imagination. Most notably, "It Hasn't Changed," which premiered during the NBA Western Conference Finals on 28 May 2024, brought back Michael Jordan—the original face of the campaign in the 1990s—as narrator.

That advertisement, described as the brand's largest-ever campaign spot, featured an impressive roster of athletic talent including Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Jayson Tatum, Josh Allen, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and DJ Lagway.

The visual language of the campaign deliberately evoked the iconic imagery of the original 1990s advertisements, with modern athletes shown dripping in distinctive Gatorade-coloured sweat, while the message emphasised the enduring importance of inner drive and overcoming obstacles, rather than merely seeking external validation.

Lamar's new spot appears to continue this thematic focus on inner determination, albeit with his own distinctive philosophical slant and artistic sensibilities—a creative direction that appears to be paying dividends for the brand as it connects with a new generation of consumers.

Meanwhile, the "Humble" rapper has also been tapped as the newest ambassador for French luxury house Chanel. All of this while the Grammy-winning rapper is on a tour with singer-songwriter SZA.