Man, I was just rummaging through some old boxes in the garage the other day, you know, trying to clear out some space. Found a bunch of old magazines and stuff. And then, bam, I saw this ancient ad for Gatorade. The logo just jumped out at me because it looked so… different. Totally sent me down a rabbit hole trying to piece together its history from what I remembered and what I could dig up.
My Trip Down Memory Lane with Gatorade’s Look
So, I started digging around, trying to remember what the really old ones looked like. First thing that came to mind was that classic green lettering. And wasn’t there always a lightning bolt? Yeah, pretty sure it was orange back then. It’s funny how these things stick in your head, but also get fuzzy over time. I spent a good hour just trying to visualize it before I even looked anything up.
Then I got curious and actually started searching for some solid info. Turns out, they’ve tinkered with that logo a LOT. I found out that at some point, the big “G” became the star of the show, still with a lightning bolt, of course. Can’t have Gatorade without a bolt, right? I even recall a phase where the outline of the word ‘Gatorade’ itself changed to blue. And the bolt, well, it got a makeover too – became super simplified. Less jagged, more sleek, I guess you’d say. I remember sketching out these different versions on a notepad, trying to see the progression.
It’s kinda like that one time I decided to restore an old wooden chair I found. At first, I thought, “How hard can it be?” Stripped the old varnish, thinking I’d just slap on a new coat. But then I noticed all the little nicks and carvings, and how previous attempts to fix it had changed its original character. Each layer told a story, much like these logo changes. I ended up spending weeks carefully sanding and trying to match the original feel, rather than just making it look “new.” It’s a process, you know?
Anyway, back to Gatorade. I read that their sales kinda took a little dip back around 2008. And what do companies often do when that happens? Rebrand! So, by 2009, they were really pushing that big “G” hard. That became THE symbol. Makes sense, I suppose. Short, punchy, easy to recognize on a fast-moving bottle.
And the actual font they use for ‘Gatorade’? I discovered it’s totally custom. Some fancy serif font they had made specifically for the logo. You don’t just pick something off a standard list when you’re a brand like Gatorade, huh? Someone put some serious thought into that.
Going way back, the very first logo, from 1965, was a different beast altogether. I managed to find images of it. It actually featured the Stokely-Van Camp name – they were the original company behind it, I believe. And the typeface for ‘Gatorade’ was its own unique thing even then. That initial logo apparently lasted until about 1970. Then they changed it up to be more colorful, and this is cool: they used the University of Florida’s football team colors – orange, white, and green. Since Gatorade was developed there for the Gators, it totally clicked for me why those colors were chosen. It was a direct nod to its roots.
It’s wild how much these things evolve. You see them every day and don’t really think about the journey they’ve been on. But then you specifically set out to look back, and it’s a whole different story, a whole timeline of changes. Kinda like looking at old photos of your hometown. You’re like, ‘Wow, that building wasn’t there!’ or ‘I totally forgot that shop used to be on the corner!’ Ha! Anyway, that was my little adventure into the world of old Gatorade logos. Kept me busy for a good afternoon, and I feel like I learned a bit more about something I see all the time.