Ira Antelis, the Chicago advertising music director behind major brand campaigns like Gatorade's iconic "Be Like Mike" jingle, is on to the next phase of his career, making an all-natural beverage designed to lower blood pressure.
After being diagnosed with hypertension, Antelis began looking for alternatives to the standard medication patients often get prescribed. He found evidence that hibiscus, magnesium and other natural ingredients could lower blood pressure, and it led him to creating 120/Life.
The beverage, which hit the market in April, is made from hibiscus and magnesium and four other natural ingredients, including cherry, cranberry, beetroot and pomegranate.
120/Life is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but Antelis claims that because its ingredients have been shown in clinical studies to lower blood pressure, consumers of 120/Life can expect to see similar results. Antelis says the drink lowered his blood pressure by 30 to 40 points in less than five days.
“I realized if you drank it, you would see very positive results,” Antelis said. “If you stop, your blood pressure seemed to return to where it was. The idea is you drink this once a day for life.”
Because the beverage is designed to be consumed every day, 120/Life is sold in cases of seven for $28. Right now, it’s only available for pre-order. To date, 120/Life has sold nearly 21,000 bottles, Antelis said, and a new batch is slated to be delivered in November.
“People thought I was crazy when I said I was going to do this,” Antelis said. “But if you do the numbers, worldwide there’s close to 1 billion people with high blood pressure and a lot of them don’t want to take medication their whole lives. So I think this has potential to be a multi-billion-dollar brand.”
Though Antelis, who has worked in music production in Chicago for over 25 years, is best known for his jingle in the "Be Like Mike" ad, he has also worked with other brands like 7-Eleven and McDonald's. He wrote the song for McDonald's "What You Want Is What You Get" ad campaign in the 1990s. Antelis still works in music production, but said most of his days are spent growing 120/Life.
120/Life, which is manufactured by Create-A-Pack Foods in Ixonia, Wisconsin, can currently only be bought on its website, but Antelis said the product will be available on Amazon by the end of this month. Looking ahead, Antelis said he wants to sell 120/Life in grocery chains like Albertson’s, Mariano’s and Costco.
