Staying Hydrated in the Cold: Back in Marquette with Sqwincher

There are some clients that just get it. Sqwincher is one of them. And there are some places that just feel like home. Marquette, Michigan is one of those too.

Marquette is a place we used to call home, and every time we get to return — whether for a vacation or a shoot — it genuinely feels good to be back. This time, Sqwincher brought us up to the UP in the middle of winter, and honestly? We wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The brief was simple: show that hydration isn’t just a summer thing. The workers out there in below-freezing temps, bundled up under layers, running chainsaws and climbing utility poles — they’re sweating too. They need Sqwincher just as much as anyone working in July heat.

We didn’t manufacture anything for this shoot. The snow was real. The cold was real. The loggers, linemen, and construction crews we put in front of the camera were the real deal. That’s always the goal — find the authenticity and let the camera do the rest.

We opened with a beauty shot: a spread of colorful Sqwincher Qwik Stik packets laid out on a snow-dusted wooden surface, those bright yellows, purples, and greens popping hard against the white. It set the tone immediately — bold product, beautiful setting. From there, we followed the workers. A logger mid-break in the snowy woods, pouring a Sqwincher packet into his tumbler with a chainsaw at his side. A lineman in full high-vis gear working a power pole in falling snow. A construction worker loading gear and pushing through the cold. Each of them a different kind of tough. Each of them the exact audience Sqwincher is built for.

Shooting in the UP in winter gives you something you can’t replicate anywhere else. The light, the landscape, the mood — it’s cinematic without even trying. We leaned into all of it, using the grey skies and falling snow as part of the visual story rather than obstacles to work around. And being back in Marquette made the whole thing that much more meaningful.

Sqwincher has been a LeClair Media client for a while now, and this shoot is a reminder of what a great long-term partnership looks like. They trust us creatively. We know their brand, their audience, and what makes their content work. The result speaks for itself.

Ready to create content that actually connects with your audience — wherever they are, whatever the weather?