Gatorade pays California $300K, settles anti-water complaint

Gatorade

(KATHLEEN RONAYNE/AP) -- Just because drought-ravaged California has spent years urging residents to conserve water doesn't mean it wants people to actually stop drinking the stuff.

When a Gatorade cellphone game suggested doing just that state Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a complaint accusing the popular thirst-quenching drink's maker of false advertising.

By Thursday -- less than a day after Becerra's complaint -- the issue was water under the bridge: Gatorade quickly reached a settlement in which it agreed to pay $300,000 and promised not to badmouth water. The company admitted no wrongdoing.

At issue was Gatorade's free mobile game "Bolt!," in which players help "refuel" Olympic runner Usain Bolt's race to a finish line.  The sprinter picks up speed when he hits Gatorade icons and slows when he runs into water.