Meet Dewey Ryder, The 'Handsome' New Dale Earnhardt Jr. In Mountain Dew Ads
Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 07:04PM By Barry Janoff
October 26, 2017: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been driving competitively since 1969, has been with Hendrick Motorsports since 2008 and has also been a spokesman for Mountain Dew since 2008, appearing in numerous light-hearted and humorous campaigns.
Earnhardt Jr. this past April said that except for some races in 2018 not associated with the Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series, he would be retiring following the 2017 Nascar season.
Though he did not mention retiring from Mountain Dew marketing efforts, the PepsiCo brand has, apparently, taken his retirement way too literally.
Mountain Dew today unveiled the spokesman who would be “replacing” Earnhardt Jr. in its marketing efforts: Dewey Ryder.
“What's up, racing fans. I'm Dewey Ryder,” said Dewey Ryder in a statement. “Here to announce the biggest racing news since lug nuts. Me. The only person capable of filling Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s green fire suit when he retires at the end of the season . . . the handsome new face of Mountain Dew.”
The news caught Earnhardt Jr. by surprise.
“Junior, what’s up?” Dewey (played by actor Danny McBride) says to Earnhardt Jr. in the intro spot for the campaign — scheduled to break on NBCSN Oct. 29, during the First Data 500 in Martinsville Speedway — when he shows up at the Hendrick Motorsports garage with a camera crew.
“Do I know you?” asks Earnhardt Jr.
“I know this is super bittersweet for you, the passing of the (Mountain Dew) torch,” says Dewey.
A confused Earnhardt Jr. just stares at Dewey.
“Oh, nobody told you?” says Dewey. “This is awkward. I’m the new you. I'll be picking up right where you left off. Driving fast cars in circles. Endorsementing. Basically, the same stuff that you do.”
Dewey then proceeds to show off his knowledge of race cars. “Where’s the trunk? Where do you keep your luggage? How fast can you get this — 60 MPH? Where’s the keys?”
“This is weird,” says Earnhardt Jr. as he watches Dewey drink a Dew. (See the full spot here.)
Earnhardt Jr. is getting “booted” despite his loyalty to the brand.
“I want to honor my commitment to Rick (Hendrick), to my sponsors, to my team and to the fans,” Earnhardt Jr. said during his retirement speech.
"Dewey has no racing experience. No training behind the wheel. And, we have no idea how this is going to work out," Chauncey Hamlett, senior director-marketing for Mountain Dew, said without remorse in an actual statement.
"We'll definitely miss seeing Dale Jr. behind the wheel as he starts his retirement, as he is an incredible partner to the brand. Dewey Ryder brings something we've never seen before, from the way he holds a bottle of Dew to his bold, fun and boundary-pushing style,” said Hamlett.
“There you have it,” Dewey said in his statement “To recap, Dale Jr. is retiring and I'm the new model — the upgrade — if you will. Stay tuned. Down the road there will be more Dewey for many moons to come.”
In addition to TV, support includes digital, POP and social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat via @MountainDew, hash tag #DeweyRyder.
Lead agency is BBDO.
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