Mid March saw Mountain Dew roll out the follow up phase to its Dewy Ryder debut work leveraging the retirement of long-time brand ambassador Dale Earnhardt Jr, as the fictional comic character gets behind the wheel for his first NASCAR race.
Ryder, played by comic actor Danny McBride, was initially introduced late last year as Earnhardt Jr’s replacement (see case study).
The campaign proved successful enough for the soft drink brand to extend the marketing idea and actually put Ryder on the race track.
The follow-up creative, which again also features Earnhardt Jr and ESPN motor sport commentator Marty Smith, see McBride’s Ryder pimp out the famous Mountain Dew branded car (complete with a raft of daft bells and whistles ranging from a fridge full of Mountain Dew and a set of tire spikes, plus a distinctive shark fin, a dreamcatcher, a gamer joystick and even a smoke machine) and then take the track.
The humorous campaign, developed in harness with agency BBDO, is spearheaded by a three-minute-plus spot that also features a conversation with Earnhardt and Smith in TV broadcast booth as they remark on Ryder’s crazy car, lack of skills and last place position.
The hero spot made its on-air TV debut during the Martinsville Speedway race (on Sunday, 25 March) and will run through July 2018 across multiple television channels, as well as the brand’s digital and social channels.
After taking the reins from Dale Jr., Dewey Ryder hits the track for his very first (and probably last) race. https://t.co/p7GkvU8zED
— Mountain Dew® (@MountainDew) March 22, 2018
It forms the core of the 360-degree marketing initiative that also includes supporting online content (such as a set of ‘#Racing101 Racing Lessons’)
Another free racing lesson from Dewey Ryder. #Racing101
If you’re a longtime race fan who grew up thinking Banking is the degree of incline on the race track or the angle of stock cars through turns – you’ve been living a lie. pic.twitter.com/V36oePsnPx
— Mountain Dew® (@MountainDew) March 26, 2018
, as well as OOH advertising.
Comment:
The fresh, 2018 creative, the second chapter in Dewey Ryder’s story as Earnhardt’s replacement, confirms the fictional, comic character will be the main marketing face of Mountain Dew through the first half of the year.
But, while the debut creative cut through party because if it offered a clear contrast to the avalanche of emotional and earnest farewell Earnhardt spots from his long list of sponsors, the Activative team feels this follow-up phase doesn’t quite have the same effect as it lacks a pivotal, contemporary passion moment to leverage off.
Still, it is considerably funnier than most other NASCAR related creative.
The creative suggests that this is Dewey’s first and last race, but with such solid social statistics we aren’t quite so sure.
Links:
Mountain Dew
https://www.youtube.com/user/MountainDew
https://www.facebook.com/mountaindew/
https://twitter.com/MountainDew
https://www.instagram.com/MountainDew/
BBDO
