Gatorade's Turf Finder turns emptied streets into pop-up courts — Spikes Creative Data GP

Gatorade is a global leader in sports hydration, but in India it couldn't grow, and research showed why: 678 million Indians follow sports, yet only 2% of the 1.4-billion population actively participates, and 76% say the biggest barrier is having no space to play. Urbanisation and disappearing playgrounds had erased the one thing sport needs most — somewhere to do it. The brief wasn't how to sell more drinks; it was how to make play possible again.

Leo India's insight was that Indian cities are temporal: congestion moves in patterns set by office peaks, factory shifts and transit slowdowns, so roads that are choked at rush hour open up at predictable windows. Using 20 years of Google Maps traffic data, the team identified exactly when and where streets cleared, then dropped modular, mobile turfs that could be assembled and dismantled within minutes — turning dead asphalt into live basketball and badminton courts.

The first turf dropped in Mumbai, followed by Delhi's Chandni Chowk and Lajpat Nagar. Geo-targeted and playable out-of-home ads announced each location 48 hours in advance, and local communities, onlookers and players of all ages joined in. Crucially, the model was built to outlast the campaign: Mumbai's civic body and fitness chain CultFit came on board to keep the turfs going.

The numbers followed: 50,000+ players engaged, 150+ locations mapped, 121% sales growth in Mumbai and $1M in earned media value, with the state government offering 30+ further locations under the Fit India Movement. The campaign won a Gold Lion at Cannes 2024 and the Creative Data Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2025 — proof that a brand can grow by giving its market the missing playing field.