“Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative”

CASE SYNOPSIS
Index of Content

1. What is Mountain Dew?

• History
• Role in group
• Brand positioning

2. Macro environment and challenges

• CSD Industry

3. Campaign evolution & issue

• Do the Dew campaign
• Campaign effectiveness and evaluation

4. Year 2000 planning & decision making

• Planning objectives and issues
• TA Culture
• New Creative
What is “Mountain Dew”?
Dew History

• Invented by the Hartman Beverage Company in Knoxville,

Tennessee in the late 1940s
• Became a favorite on the Eastern seaboard, through
Kentucky, Tennessee, and eventually spread up through
the Great Lakes states (skirting the big cities) and into
the Northern Plains of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Dew History

• Powerful citrus flavor, more sugar and more caffeine than

other soft drinks, and less carbonation
• PepsiCo, amazed by Dew‘s success and purchased
Mountain Dew in 1964.
• NASCAR Belt has historically been Mountain Dew’s
stronghold and remains to be a critical region to the
brand’s success.
• NASCAR Belt consumer profile: Conservative / Rural /
Religious / Right-winged. Stereotype “Red Necks”.
• NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
Dew History - Evolution

1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990~2000s

Dew Role in the group

• In the 1970s, Coca-Cola introduced Mello-Yello as a me-

too competitor against Mountain Dew.
• In the 1990s, Coca-Cola introducing another copy-cat
brand called Surge to assault Mountain Dew. Also, cola
growth slowed and the "flavor" CSDs did very well. Sprite,
Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper all enjoyed great success.
• Meanwhile, the three major flavor CSD brands dominated
different geographic areas: Sprite dominated urban-ethnic
areas, Mountain Dew dominated rural areas,
particularly in the Midwest and Southeast, and Dr.
Pepper dominated Texas and the rest of the deep South.
• PepsiCo relied on Mountain Dew’s exceptional creative to
make the advertising work harder for less cost, they
viewed the creative development process as a key
organizational competency, a strategic weapon that was
central to their financial success.
Dew Positioning

• A heart-pumping, adventurous brand that appeals to the

extreme crowd and those who love to live on the edge.
Mountain Dew offers consumers an exhilarating experience
and provides more energy than any other brand.
– During the 70’s, rural orientation
– In the 80’s, targeting the suburban teens
– In the 90’s, position as a national brand

Urban
Sprite

Cautious Adventurous
Dr. Pepper
Mountain
Dew

Rural
Macro environment and challenges
CSD Industry

• The retail carbonated soft drinks (CSD) category had

long been dominated by the two cola giants, Coke and
Pepsi.
• For most of the twentieth century, PepsiCo and The
Coca-Cola Company competed fiercely, each responding
in tit-for-tat fashion to the other's successes.
• Competition to attract teens and young adults was
especially fierce. At this age, CSD consumers were
notoriously fickle and fashion-minded in their beverage
choices, routinely switching favorites.
• CSDs were a promotion intensive category. Product,
promotion, packaging, and pricing innovations were
constant though usually incremental, quickly diffusing
throughout the category.
CSD Industry

Promotion Product Packaging Pricing

1. Control of the Product 1. 20 Ounces – 5% price

shelf space perception was single serve increase at the
and display primarily on bottles category level,
experiential like has made
2. Impulse 2. 2 Liter packs,
1. Pepsi – Choice
customer think
Purchase 24 pack cases
of the new about his
displays
generation 3. Prominent choices. Else the
3. Under the Cap color based point of
2. Coke – For
Game family and all identification competition is
occasions of CSD not price
Campaign Evolution

• Before ’93 the ad looked like this…

• Do the Dew Campaign (’93 & ’94)
– Opportunity to increase Diet Mountain Dew business because it
performed better than other diet drinks on product tests. Thus
created TVC with tag line “Do Diet Dew”
– Featuring Dew Dudes – four hip male teens commenting on the
daredevil stunts
– “Been There, Done That” TVC

• Do the Dew Campaign (’95 & ’96)

– Tag line had evolved to “Do the Dew” to support the entire brand
– Though the main theme was no longer stunts but more on celebrity;
still the ad featured jumping off the building
– Still featuring Dew Dudes

– “Mel Torme” TVC

Campaign Evolution

• Do the Dew Campaign (’97)

– Dew Dudes played lesser role
– Continue to use celebrities to generate consumer interest
– Ads to attract different ethnic groups: Jackie Chen for the
Asian community and Michael Johnson for the African-
American group
– “Thank Heaven / Jackie Chan / Scream / Michael Johnson”
TVC
• Do the Dew Campaign (’98)
– Concerned about alternative sports becoming less impactful
because many other brands were now major sponsors of
alternative sports
– Needed alternative ways to demonstrate Mountain Dew’s
distinctive features to avoid been too predictable
– “Parking Attendant” TVC
Research and Evaluation Methods

• PepsiCo would periodically field major studies to assess

the health of the Mountain Dew as a brand
• Besides analyzing formal research figures, PepsiCo also
monitored “talk value / buzz” of the ad been talked about
by the mass media (The Tonight Show and David
Letterman)
• In addition to collecting feedback from the Mountain Dew
website, unofficial websites and the 800 customer service
hotline, Pepsico also carefully monitored how the sales
force and its bottlers responded to the ad
• A latest study conducted in 1999 reported Mountain
Dew’s in most aspects compare with a year ago:
– “Dew Tastes Better” improved 6 points to 48%
– “For someone like me” increased 5 points to 53%
– “Dew drinkers are cool” gained 5 points to 64%
– Unaided awareness dropped 5 points to 39%
FY2000 Planning

ISSUES:
• Weakening CSD category (colas & flavored) being threatened by
alternative non-CSDs
• How to keep the “Do the Dew” campaign relevant with the
overexposure & saturation of extreme sports
• How to counter the attack of the non-CSDs, especially Gatorade
(sports drink) and Red Bull (energy drink)

PLAN:
 Develop 3 new TVC spots, leveraging on PepsiCo’s core
competency in advertising creativeness, to address these issues.
 Premier 2 of the 3 new spots in the Super Bowl telecast, and
then run all 3 spots throughout the year.
 Timing is extremely critical, with less than 4 months to the actual
Super Bowl Sunday at time of the story board presentation
The Super Bowl

What is The Super Bowl:

 Season final game of the National Football League
 Effectively a national holiday (usually 4th Sunday of Jan / 1st Sunday of
Feb) in the US
 One of the most watched TV broadcast in the US (close to 100 million
viewers)
 A battleground for advertisers as well as the football teams
 Spectacular media attention on the advertising …. huge PR exposure !

Considerations for Advertising:

• Needs to have MASS appeal …. Easily understood by the diverse audience
• “Big Production” almost a given … advertisers competes on extravagant
production
• The creative plays a critical role and needs to stand out from the crowd
Communication Strategy

OBJECTIVE:
 Expand appeal of Mountain De to new users while reinforcing it among
current users
POSITIONING:
 To 18Y males. Mountain Dew is a great tasting CSD that exhilarates like
no others because it is energizing, thirst-quenching, and has a unique
citrus flavor
STRATEGY:
 Symbolize drinking Mountain Dew is an exhilarating experience
TARGET:
 Primary: 18Y Male (epicenter / core)
 Ensure Appeal among 20Y~39Y current users while maintaining cross-
ethnic appeal

Product Benefit: Energizing / Great Taste / Quenching

Emotional Benefit: Exhilarating / Excitement
Personality: Irreverent / Daring / Fun
Advertising Selection – “ Do the Dew”

Creative Evaluation:
 The most challenging aspect of brand management according to
PepsiCo
 One of the company’s core competencies.
 Reserved for senior managers. One needs to prove his ability in this
process to rise to the ranks of senior management.
The Task:
 3 new concepts (i.e. storyboard format) needs to be selected from 5
finalists
 No time to go back to the drawing board …. Less than 4 months to
Super Bowl Sunday.
Decision Makers:
 Brand Marketing Director / Company Chief Marketing Officer / Company
Chief Executive Officer (PepsiCo CEO)
 Consultants: Ad Agency (BBDO) Executive Creative Director / Senior
Account Director / Chief Creative officer / Chief Operating Officer
 Creative Decision Filters

BRAND

Is framing of Is expression of Will the ad

brand benefits brand resonate with
compelling? symbolism apt? target culture?

COMMUNICATION -Engaging
- Integrate
- Simple product into
- Original story?

- Creative

CAMPAIGN

Effective extension of campaign

equities?
TA Lifestyle & Values

MUSIC SPORTS
 Rap
• Extreme Sports
 Alternative Rock / Grunge
• BMX / Skateboard / in-
 Techno / House line skate / snowboard

Gen X (born (1970s~early 1980s)

ETHOS
 Laid back work ethics ( fame & money NOT aspirations)
 Distrust corporations & marketing (RESIST hard sell)
 Life Style driven
 Retro is cool (non-trendy & individualistic interest)
The 5 Finalist – Story Boards

1. “Labor of Love”
 Humorous spot about the birth of the Dew drinker. 1
2. “Cheetch”
 Dew Dude chase down a cheetah on a mountain bike 2
3. “Dew or Die”
 Dew Dudes tries to save the world and succeeds by 3
accident

4. “Mock Opera”
 Parody of Queen hit Bohemian Rhapsody sung by Dew 4
Dudes

5. “Showstopper”
 Take-off on retro extravagantly choreographed musical / 5
dance number
JUST “DEW” IT!!