Gatorade Drops New "My Way" Commercial To Kick Off Jeter's Last Week In The Bronx

Ad Week – Molly Carter, Gatorade’s senior director of consumer engagement, gave Adweek a preview of the commercial, which shows Jeter surprising fans outside Yankee Stadium to the tune of Sinatra’s “My Way.” After penning an open letter announcing his retirement this spring, the Yankees captain himself suggested a spot showing him thanking Yankee fans, said Carter. When Gatorade asked the 40-year-old (the brand’s third-longest-serving endorser after Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm) which song best summed up his career, he picked “My Way.” “It was a true collaboration between Derek and Gatorade,” Parker said. Gatorade, the official sports drink of Major League Baseball since 1990, roped off a few blocks before a home game in the Bronx this July and “just kind of let Jeter go,” said Carter. The shock and surprise on fans’ faces when their idol walks into Stan’s Sports Bar, or autographs baseballs, is genuine, she said.

This is it people. The last week any of us will see Derek Jeter in pinstripes before he plays in an Old Timers Day. And this video is the perfect way to kick it off because you can see how much he means to Yankee fans and how happy people get just seeing him. I know KFC is probably going to hate this because he thinks Jeter is just a PR machine, but this is apparently very authentic. Jeter picked out the song and they increased the police presence around the stadium when they filmed this, but the fans are not actors. Derek just wanted to interact with fans as naturally as possible while thanking them for the support over the years.

I’m sure at the end of the season there will be some final blog about his career and what he meant to all of us but for the next week I suggest getting out to a game or 2. While he may not be the player he was 10 years ago, Derek Jeter is the face of the Yankees and everything that is right in baseball, so take a minute to appreciate that while you still can.

PS: While writing this I confirmed to myself that I will cry this week and I’m fine with that.

KFC Editors Note: COCKY move choosing Sinatra’s “My Way.” If one were a bitter Yankee hater, and one were so inclined, one could make the argument that Derek Jeter never made a single move without worrying about the media and his image so in essence he didn’t really do things his way, but this was pretty cool so I’m gonna leave it. Stopping in at Stan’s was awesome. As a matter of fact it was just salt on the wounds for me. If there’s 2 things the Mets dont have, its a franchise stud with multiple rings, and a cool atmosphere surrounding their stadium. Unless you wanna go hang out at Auto Body garages and chop shops, the area surrounding Citi Field sucks. Maybe one day McFaddens will be the hot spot but until then I just want something, anything that compares to Stans.