Black Tennis Pros

HOLLYWOOD, CA. (February 24, 2009) – Top world ranked tennis player Serena Williams – who just came off winning her 10^th Grand Slam Singles Title at the 2009 Australian Open - teamed up with Gatorade G2 today at Hollywood’s famed Roosevelt Hotel to select who will appear alongside her in a new national “Everyday Athletes” ad campaign for the Gatorade G2 low-calorie sports drink. Emceed by Access Hollywood host and upcoming Dancing with the Stars competitor, Nancy O’Dell, The G2 Everyday Athlete Search featured five semi-finalists –all named Serena – who traveled to the event from around the country to discuss their personal stories of how sports and exercise have helped them overcome a challenge or allowed them to reach and accomplish a significant, personal goal.

A casting panel consisting of Serena Williams, and representatives from Shape Magazine and Gatorade G2 selected winner Serena Cuevas, 23, from San Diego, Calif. based on Cuevas’ story of growing up with a passion to dance that was sidetracked by a horrific car accident at the age of 17. She was told by the doctors she may never dance again. With determination and passion, Cuevas recovered and went on to compete in national and international salsa competitions, as well as establish her own dance company - Deseo Dance Company – in San Diego.

Cuevas will appear with Serena Williams in the national ad campaign beginning this spring that will help draw attention to the Gatorade brand’s broadened definition of what it means to be an athlete. If your body is moving, Gatorade considers you an athlete. In addition to Serena Williams, G2 is also unveiling three more “everyday athlete” ads, featuring the NBA’s Kevin Garnett, WNBA’s Candace Parker, and Gold Medal Beach Volleyball star Kerri Walsh with their “everyday athlete” counterparts. Others are invited to share their own “everyday athlete” stories at missionG.com, the new sports and entertainment portal for Gatorade.

“Whether you are Serena Williams or Serena Cuevas, we all have it within us to achieve our dreams and goals, thanks to sports, exercise and being active,” said Sarah Robb O’Hagan, chief marketing officer for Gatorade. “This G2 campaign invites more consumers to see themselves as athletes while motivating them to be the best they can be.”

In recent weeks, Gatorade has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign designed to appeal to a broader range of athletes and beyond the traditional sidelines. The G2 Everyday Athlete Search, part of the new G campaign, is a call to action for all active people, not only to think about Gatorade in new and exciting ways, but also to search for compelling ways they can challenge themselves to achieve while promoting the low-calorie benefit of the beverage with a tagline of “Less Calories for More Athletes.”

Along with winner Cuevas, the other semi-finalists who traveled to Hollywood to meet with Serena include Serena Marrero, 47, Tillson, New York; Serena Lehman, 27, Seattle, Wash.; Serena Orgel, 34, Brooklyn, New York; and Serena Martinez, 38, Ventura, Calif.

For more information on the low-calorie G2 beverages, visit Gatorade.com. To view the G2 Everyday Athlete Campaign, visit missionG.com.