FORMULA 1
The origins of “Red Bull gives you wings” - a marketing masterstroke
Since 1997, this slogan has been used to refer to the stimulating properties of the energy drink and is linked to its development.
Created in the 1980s by Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz, using a formula devised by Thai Chaleo Yoovidhya, Red Bull has established itself as the quintessential giant in the energy drinks sector.
It was the latter tycoon who mixed caffeine, sugar and an amino acid called taurine, used to produce energy, to create an energy drink that is now a benchmark in its sector. He did so in the 1970s, when he was involved in the marketing of medicines in Thailand, and he called it Krating Daeng (“red bull”).
Mateschitz, on a trip through Thailand, discovered that this drink helped him relieve his jet lag. In 1984, the partnership between the two businessmen led to the founding of Red Bull GmbH, which was responsible for launching the drink in Austria in 1987, and also managed to turn it into a global brand. That year, the first can was sold, and in the 1990s, the company implemented a symbolic slogan, created by the advertising agency Kastner & Partners.
The stimulating properties of the drink, key to its origin
Who can forget the memorable: “it gives you wings” - a slogan that was a marketing success and led to the formation of an economic empire in an under-exploited sector at the end of the 20th Century. In fact, the slogan itself is inevitably linked to its “benefits”, such as physical stimulation, improved concentration and increased alertness.
In other words, a lifestyle where adrenaline is always the main protagonist. Everyone is familiar with its advertisements from the beginning of the 21st century. Advertisements in which, using simple black and white drawings, the energy provided by a can of Red Bull was exemplified. Precisely, the origin of the expression is in the stimulating properties of the drink.
Sponsor in sports disciplines and economic empire
Formula 1, motorcycle sports and football are just some of the areas in which Red Bull is established as a main sponsor. The agreement with Atlético Madrid has been the latest to materialise in football, a discipline in which it is the spearhead of clubs such as Salzburg, Leipzig and the MLS' New York Red Bulls, among others. Better known is the case of the Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing, world champion of drivers and constructors, although it owns 15 sports teams.
As a company, by the end of 2023, it recorded a turnover of more than 10 billion euros, as well as a sales volume. The United States, with a turnover of 4.72 billion euros, and Europe, with 3.94 billion euros, were its main market niches.
A complaint that ‘clipped the wings’ of Red Bull
Following the slogan “gives you wings” itself, a lawsuit put an end to the brand’s famous advertising slogan. In 2014, the company faced a class action lawsuit led by Benjamin Careathers, David Wolf and Miguel Almarez, who accused Red Bull of misleading advertising and claimed that they had not experienced any improvement from what the campaign promised.
Ultimately, Red Bull agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle the lawsuit, thereby compensating affected customers, and also agreed to no longer use the famous slogan that catapulted it to the top.
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