Lucozade Sport's Scientifically Designed Ad Helps You Hydrate

In their quest to hydrate active Brits, Lucozade Sport has worked with an Oxford University experimental psychologist to create ‘hydration guidelines’ for its advertising that helps remind people to hydrate. The new guidelines have started to be applied to the launch campaign of Lucozade Sport’s first Zero Sugar range and will be used in all future launches, supporting ads and social content.

A new scientific white paper written by Professor Charles Spence, examined the impact of various kinds of sensory stimulation in making people more aware of their need to hydrate, with the findings forming the ‘hydration guidelines’ which explore every aspect from the design of a drinks bottle to how it is advertised.

The advertising for the launch of the new Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar is the first time the guidelines have been applied. Specific sensory cues have been incorporated to help remind viewers to hydrate, such as the liquid being transparent and flowing as opposed to static, bottles being positioned to feel ‘grabbable’ and a specially designed soundscape.

To put the theoretical findings of the white paper to the test, Lucozade Sport conducted a first-of-its-kind study that was designed to prompt participants to recognise and quench their thirst through the identified cues.

The preliminary study analysed how much participants hydrated during two sets of yoga classes – one primed with ‘visual thirst’ prompts versus an ordinary yoga session. In the ‘controlled’ yoga class, attendees were exposed to ‘visual thirst’ prompts such as warm colours and thirst-inducing images like pouring water or a desert.

The findings from the pilot study showed that participants drank on average 80% more liquid in the session when exposed to sensory cues that encouraged ‘visual thirst’. This highlights the need for more cues throughout daily life to remind people to hydrate, particularly in exercise settings, where a third of athletes (32 per cent) are dehydrated before even working out[1].

Professor Charles Spence, experimental psychologist at Oxford University, said, “Studies show that many of us are living in a state of under-hydration, and that this can have a deleterious effect on both our mental and physical performance. The white paper and initial study suggest that ‘visual thirst’ is real and people can be prompted to drink via visual and audible cues. It’s the first time a brand has created a set of ‘hydration guidelines’ to help serve the product’s purpose, and it’s fitting that Lucozade Sport have done so, given their long history in hydration.”

Katherine Shaw, sport scientist at Lucozade Sport, comments, “We know that more and more people are living an active lifestyle and hydration is essential to keep the brain and body at its best. Working with Professor Spence has enabled us to create a campaign based on new scientific principles for Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar, which is like no other. Science and research have guided our ads to help our consumers as much as our products do. The new Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar product is a zero sugar fitness drink that contains Vitamin B3 to help reduce tiredness, electrolyte and great flavours to help our athletes and consumers stay hydrated. We can’t wait for more people to try it.”

Christian Sewell, creative director at adam&eveDDB, added, “We’ve launched Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar with a campaign that’s fittingly big on hydration. Using insights from the pilot study to apply visual and audio cues will help remind everyone of the thirst-quenching taste that the sports drink provides.”

Lucozade Sport has great heritage in sports science, conducting over 170 studies into the benefits of carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions on sports performance which helped make it the nation's favourite sports drink. It’s latest work with Professor Spence to develop ‘hydration guidelines,’ will see a set of key principles applied to all the brand’s visual content with its sports teams such as England’s men and women’s football teams, as well as across its own advertising and social channels to help audiences hydrate more based on the scientific findings.

Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar is the latest addition to the brand’s range of sports drinks and is now available at retailers nationwide.