Gatorade lands in foul trouble with ‘Let Her Cook’ WNBA ad campaign: ‘Massive fail’

A Gatorade ad campaign intended to showcase WNBA players has instead gone viral for the wrong reasons, thanks to the much-mocked slogan “Let Her Cook.”

The company rolled out the catchphrase at the WNBA All-Star Game with a billboard and video featuring stars such as A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, as well as towels and limited-edition water bottles, with the “Let Her Cook” slogan.

Emily Boido, Gatorade senior marketing director, called the theme “an anthem paying respect to these incredible athletes at full throttle — competitive, supportive, intense, and joyful,” according to AdWeek.

Even so, social media wags howled at the slogan’s implication that WNBA players should put aside professional basketball to embrace the domestic arts.

“Gatorade decided ’Let Her Cook’ was a great tagline for the WNBA,” said the @PhillyHJ account on X. “Was ’get in the kitchen’ not available?”

The Victory Girls blog chimed in: “Gatorade: Let the WNBA Be Barefoot and Preggers in the Kitchen.”

Conservative commentator Jon Root opined: “I don’t think Gatorade & the WNBA fully thought this marketing campaign through,” adding a laughter emoji.

Other comments on social media included “We agree, let her cook (dinner),” “WNBA said it was either that or Let Her Vacuum so they went with Cook,” and “Gatorade needs to fire whoever thought this was a good idea.”

@Gatorade coming in with an absolutely killer marketing campaign to rev up interest in the WNBA.

It’s bold! It’s courageous! And gosh darn it, it’s about time some company took the initiative!

Well done, gentlemen!

Agreed…LET HER COOK! pic.twitter.com/tveLmwljAf

— The Middle Aged Baby (@MiddleAgedBaby2) July 25, 2025

The phrase refers to the 2024 song “Let Her Cook” by GloRilla, which is also the soundtrack for the campaign’s one-minute video narrated by WNBA Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie.

“The lyrics use cooking and kitchen metaphors to symbolize taking control, being confident, and not letting past mistakes hold you back,” said the website Musixmatch.

Not everybody made the connection. “Did nobody at Gatorade think how this slogan could be intended? Massive fail on Gatorade’s part,” said a comment on Gatorade’s Instagram page.

Jordan Rogers, a sports-marketing commentator, said that the “manosphere … has gone crazy about this campaign.”

“But maybe that was the point,” he said in a Saturday video on Instagram. “This is a classic case of disruptive marketing. Marketing is about two things: One, grabbing attention, and two, communicating a message effectively in a short amount of time. Gatorade seems to have succeeded at number one.”

He continued: “My question is, did they communicate number two effectively and was it successful?”

Not according to conservative outlets like OutKick, which declared: “Gatorade Sets Women’s Sports Back Decades With Unfortunate Slogan.”

RedState contributor Bob Hoge said Gatorade “actually tried to make a struggling women’s sports league sound exciting by parroting a line that sounded ominously close to, ’Get back in the kitchen.’”

“It’s not that I’m deeply offended — I’m certainly not — but I am just flabbergasted by the idiocy of what I imagine are highly paid marketing professionals,” he said in a Saturday post. “Could they not see that the jokes write themselves?”

Twitchy Team linked the campaign to the WNBA players’ “Pay Us What You Owe Us” push for higher salaries during the All-Star Game held July 18-19 in Indianapolis.

“Gatorade’s ’Let Her Cook’ Promo Sends ’Back to the Kitchen’ Message for WNBA Players Demanding Raises,” said the conservative website.

Gatorade really set the WNBA back 30 years with their new “Let Her Cook” campaign😂 pic.twitter.com/FJm3UnyiYw

— Bet105 (@bet_105) July 25, 2025

The mockery comes with Gatorade, part of the PepsiCo family of brands, already facing criticism for backing organizations that support transgender athletes in female sports.

Gatorade has been a “social impact partner” and financial supporter of Athlete Ally and the Women’s Sports Foundation, both of which advocate for athletes to compete based on gender identity.

In its 2022 annual report, Athlete Ally listed Gatorade as a top-tier sponsor, meaning that it contributed at least $100,000. Nike, Adidas and the WNBA were also named as $100,000+ sponsors.

The Women’s Sports Foundation acknowledged Gatorade as one of its “Presenting Sponsors” for its 2025 Annual Salute to Women in Sports in October.