PepsiCo's Mountain Dew Gets Fast, Furious In $1B Brand's First Global Campaign
By Barry Janoff
March 30, 2015: The history of Mountain Dew soft drink traces back to the hills of Tennessee in the late 1940s, but is now a popular beverage among urban, suburban and rural consumers — especially among the cherished millennial demographic — to the tune of more than $1 billion in global retail sales.
Parent company PepsiCo is going back to the drink's roots but incorporating a fast and furious theme, using the classic "Do the Dew" tag line as its mantra for what was called the first worldwide marketing campaign in Mountain Dew history.
A major leg of the effort will be fronted by professional skateboarder Sean Malto and Olympic snowboarder Scotty Lago, both of whom represent Mountain Dew's close alliances with action sports and events such as the Dew Tour and video gaming competitions.
To up the energetic ante, the spots were directed by Justin Lin, whose resume includes three films in the Fast & The Furious franchise and the upcoming Star Trek 3.
"Do the Dew is more than just an advertising slogan for Mountain Dew — it represents the attitude of a community that really seeks to live life authentically," Simon Lowden, CMO for Pepsi Beverages North America, said in a statement. "True to what Dew Nation has come to expect from Dew we created the content for this global campaign with authenticity as our filter, and we can't wait for our fans to have a damn good time with it."
The multi-layer campaign is anchored by two commercials — long-form for Internet viewing and shorter versions for TV and in-cinema – "Fireboard" with Malto and "Directions" with Lago. Both are described as showing how member of Dew Nation have "an extraordinary, exhilarating, damn good time."
Support includes print, outdoor, Internet and social media, as well as activations as Mountain Dew events such as sponsoring Florida Georgia Line's "Anything Goes Tour" this year.
We Are Blood, a skateboarding lifestyle film from Mountain Dew Green Label Films and Brain Farm, hits theaters in August.
Lead agency is BBDO, New York.
"Mountain Dew started off in the hills of Tennessee in 1948 and is now turning into a global phenomena." said Brad Jakeman, President, PepsiCo Global Beverages Group. "It's a truly authentic brand that has always lived by its own values Do the Dew means do what makes you happy and have a damn good time doing it."
According to PepsiCo, Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew each generate more than a billion dollars in estimated annual retail sales
Sibling upstart Mountain Dew KickStart has marketing that features Russell Westbrook of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder..
Mtn Dew DEWshine, a non-alcoholic craft, clear citrus Dew made with real sugar, launched earlier this month with images tied to Mountain Dew's Tennessee roots and described as being "inspired by one of the backwoods' most honored legends (now) available legally for the first time."
According to Jakeman, "Mountain Dew is one of our billion dollar brands and one of our fastest growing global brands. It enjoys unparalleled leadership positions in countries like Pakistan and India, as well as the United States, and is one of the few brands — in beverages and throughout the consumer goods space — that has no real competition. It is truly a category of one."
Jakeman said that launching the first Mountain Dew global integrated marketing campaign "is part of our commitment to reinvest in our top brands, and leveraging its scale and muscle will allow us to continue to build this powerhouse brand with the same passion and authenticity that the Dew Nation has come to expect of Mountain Dew."
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