Two of USA Boxing’s most accomplished athletes are being featured in Powerade’s inspirational “Just a Kid” campaign as they head in to the 2016 Olympic Games. 2012 Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) and Junior and Youth World Champion and Youth Olympic Games gold medalist Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.) are both being highlighted for their amazing accomplishments as such a young age.
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With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games drawing closer, Powerade is partnering with three U.S. athletes whose personal stories reflect the brand’s “Just a Kid” campaign, which aims to inspire by taking a passionate stand for the potential in every young athlete. Powerade’s roster will include Claressa Shields (women’s boxing), Lopez Lomong (men’s track & field, 1500m) and Shakur Stevenson (men’s boxing). Each athlete has overcome incredible barriers and obstacles in their life, but through hard work and determination, all have a chance to become one of the best competitors in their respective sport – and a chance at Olympic glory.
“A large part of what makes the Olympic Games so inspirational are the athletes who flourish on the world’s stage after rising up from a challenging living environment,” said Shannon Watkins, group brand director, Powerade. Sue Kim, senior IMC manager, Powerade, added, “In keeping with our ‘Just a Kid’ campaign, we chose these three athletes because each of their stories prove how far you can climb by showing dedication and powering through adversity.”
Both Shields and Stevenson proudly represent the hometowns that helped build them in to the powerhouse athletes that they are today. Shields is the first American woman to win a gold medal in boxing and can become the first American boxer, male or female, to win back-to-back Olympic titles with a second gold medal this summer. Since making history in 2012, she has added World Championship and Pan American titles in dominant fashion. With only one loss in her boxing career, Shields enters the 2016 Olympic Games as the strong favorite to defend her Olympic gold medal in the middleweight division.
One of the most decorated junior and youth athletes in USA Boxing’s history, Stevenson made a seamless transition to the elite division with a gold medal victory and Outstanding Boxer award at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Men’s Boxing. The 18-year-old boasts a perfect international record and added a gold medal at the Americas Olympic Qualifier and two World Series of Boxing wins in his elite division bouts in 2016. Despite his young age, Stevenson enters the 2016 Olympic Games as one of the boxers to watch in his bantamweight division.
Both Shields and Stevenson qualified their 2016 Olympic berths with gold medal performances at the Americas Olympic Qualifier in March in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They both currently live and train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games.
This summer, a 30-second television commercial featuring Stevenson will air in the coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the networks of NBCUniversal. The return of “Just a Kid” will also come to life through Powerade’s online marketplace, out-of-home, digital, social, PR and point-of-sale. In addition, digital spots of each athlete will go live this month, and will dramatically tell the story of the adversity each faced early in their athletic career. The “Just a Kid” Olympic campaign was developed in partnership with advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Ore.
From June to August, Powerade’s online marketplace (www.justakidfrom.com) will be producing limited-edition “Just a Kid” Olympic t-shirts, featuring a “Just a Kid from the USA” design in gold foil. A portion of proceeds from the limited-edition Olympic apparel will be donated to the USOC fund to support current and future Olympians. Beginning in July, limited-edition Olympic packaging can be found on one of Powerade’s newest varieties, Watermelon Strawberry Wave™.
