Dive Brief:
- PepsiCo is unveiling its new campaign for Mtn Dew, which includes an unbranded pre-roll spot featuring NBA star Russell Westbrook doing what the brand has dubbed a "powerstance" through random scenes.
- "Like regular YouTube TrueView pre-roll spots, viewers can skip the ad after five seconds. But Dew brand leaders are hoping that the pre-roll spot is quirky and mysterious enough that people watch it till the end," Ad Age reported.
- Mtn Dew's pre-roll will only appear when consumers conduct searches related to Westbrook, according to Sadira Furlow, Mtn Dew's director of brand marketing. "Rather than leaving the viewer wanting to skip a piece [of content] when they see the immediate signs of branding, this new approach actually flips that consumer behavior on its head. We are drawing them into the content and enticing them to click through and view the full ad," she told Ad Age.
Dive Insight:
Furlow said that Mtn Dew will use conventional 15-second branded pre-roll ads as well, but they appear only when consumers search for Mtn Dew and related terms. After viewing one of the branded pre-roll spots, those consumers will be retargeted with the unbranded two-minute pre-roll.
Less than two weeks before the campaign's launch, PepsiCo's global beverage group president Brad Jakeman denounced pre-roll advertising in a speech at an Association of National Advertisers event. However, Jakeman sees Mtn Dew's latest approach to pre-roll ads as different. He described the effort to Ad Age as "a perfect example of what I was talking about at ANA: How can we make commercial content that is at least as exciting and amazing as the non-commercial content that it is placed within/before."
These are the first NBA-related ads for PepsiCo since the company announced its NBA sponsorship, taking over the role from Coca-Cola, in April. Mtn Dew will be the lead NBA brand, but other brands, such as Aquafina, Brisk, Ruffles, and Doritos, will see NBA marketing as well.