Prime Drink's Super Bowl 2023 Ad Didn't Get The Reaction It Hoped For

For highly active individuals, sports drinks are a vital aspect of performance. According to Healthline, sports drinks are recommended for extended exercise sessions because they replace the fluid and electrolytes that are lost when sweating intensely. Sports drinks also contain carbohydrates, which provide an added burst of fuel to ensure performance remains consistent.

This winning combination of ingredients has evolved into a billion-dollar industry that shows remarkable growth year after year. Retail sales of sports drinks equaled $9.1 billion in 2022, a 14.3% increase over the previous 52 weeks. The industry has also seen an influx of new products in recent years, in addition to established top sellers like Gatorade, Bodyarmor, and Powerade. One recent entrant into the performance hydration category is receiving a little pushback, perhaps due to the reputation of its co-founder.

Prime Hydration was created using the combined effort of KSI and Logan Paul. KSI initially burst into the public consciousness with a YouTube channel and musical career. In 2018, KSI switched gears and faced off against Paul in a boxing match that ended in a draw. As for Paul, the YouTube personality has gained notoriety for a variety of questionable stunts and pursuits. As explained by Insider, Paul is linked to a laundry list of controversies, including disrespecting the dead in Japan's "suicide forest," using racist stereotypes in old tweets, and inexplicably "tasing" deceased rats.

Perhaps it was these transgressions that informed the reaction to the duo's Super Bowl commercial for Prime. As illustrated by a tweet from Dexerto, the ad shows KSI and Paul swarmed by adoring fans as the duo chucks cans of Prime into the crowd, as well as other scenes of orchestrated bedlam. However, those commenting on the video were not quite as impressed as the founders of Prime probably hoped. Per one commenter, "That stuff tastes absolutely disgusting," while another claimed, "paid for with scammed crypto money," (alluding to Paul's failed NFT game CryptoZoo, via Time). The pair also received a frosty reception at UFC 284, according to another Twitter post. While it was assumed that the boos were for both men, one commenter stated "as much as you wish it was also for KSI, all those boos are for Logan lol."