Mountain Dew Presents Interactive NBA All-Star Experience

via the Source

PURCHASE, N.Y., February 11, 2016 – Today, Mountain Dew® announced its plans as an official NBA partner to deliver a damn good time throughout NBA All-Star 2016, including “Court Vision: An Interactive Virtual Reality Art Experience” and “Make An Introduction,” a television spot airing in the U.S. and Canada featuring DEW^® athletes and 2016 NBA All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Jimmy Butler, and rising star Julius Randle.

In 2015, PepsiCo and the NBA announced a multi-year marketing partnership to unite the passionate fans of the NBA with the power of PepsiCo’s food and beverage brands, including Mountain Dew, Aquafina, Brisk and Ruffles. Mountain Dew serves as the lead brand in North America for the partnership, joining longtime PepsiCo brand Gatorade, which has been an NBA partner since 1984.

“The Mountain Dew brand is all about finding and delivering awesome, one-of-a-kind experiences to DEW Nation,” said Greg Lyons, senior vice president of marketing, Mountain Dew. “The NBA partnership has been a natural fit for us, and we’re pumped to help deliver an immersive All-Star experience to hoops fans – one that symbolizes how the game starts on the court, but lives everywhere.”

Mountain Dew plans to unleash a number of interactive and energizing events in and outside of Toronto during NBA All-Star 2016, including:

Court Vision: An Interactive Virtual Reality Art Experience

Hosted by Mountain Dew at Artscape Sandbox in downtown Toronto, convenient to both the Air Canada Centre and Ricoh Coliseum, this highly interactive fan event will feature Tilt Brush, Google’s virtual reality application which lets you paint in three-dimensional space with endless possibilities. In collaboration with PepsiCo Creator, the company’s marketing innovation team that co-creates never-before-seen, culturally-relevant programs for consumers, the event will showcase emerging artists from Toronto and the U.S. who will create basketball-inspired 3D artwork with Tilt Brush.

Fans on-site will also be able to demo Tilt Brush and create artwork while sampling DEW products and enjoying the sounds of live DJs, as well as experience live appearances from Mountain Dew athletes and NBA All-Stars throughout the weekend. Visitwww.mountaindew.com/nba for event details. Fans beyond Toronto can follow the excitement via the Mountain Dew social channels to get all-access coverage throughout the weekend using #DEWxNBA.

“Make An Introduction” TV Commercial Launch

Mountain Dew is excited to debut a new TV commercial titled “Make An Introduction” featuring NBA All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Jimmy Butler, as well as rising star Julius Randle. The commercial will demonstrate how the game starts on the court, but the lifestyle around the game lives everywhere. It will air for the first time in the U.S. and Canada during NBA All-Star, extending the reach of the Mountain Dew All-Star experience outside of Toronto. Fans can view the digital version here to check out the very first DEWxNBA TV commercial.

Painting Union Station Green

Mountain Dew is going to make an NBA All-Star Weekend splash throughout several high traffic areas around Union Station in Toronto with a major out-of-home advertising installation. From wall murals and door decals to floor and column wraps, the artwork showcases how DEW athletes charge the game both on and off the court, and celebrates the vibrant personalities and unique styles of the NBA’s biggest stars.

DEW All-Star DJs

Mountain Dew is charging the DJs throughout NBA All-Star by bringing top NBA DJs to various NBA events around Toronto. Fans everywhere can visit www.nba.com/dewwarmup starting Thursday, Feb.11 at 12 p.m. ET to vote to choose their favorite East Conference and West Conference team warm-up songs to be played live while NBA players get warmed-up for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.

NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Presented by Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew is the presenting sponsor of this year’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. ET, on ESPN in the U.S. and TSN and SportsNet 1 in Canada, which will feature some of the hottest celebrities from film, TV and music, along with top NBA & WNBA Legends taking their skills to Ricoh Coliseum for a fun and entertaining basketball game. The game will pit Canada vs. the U.S., with DEW athlete and 2016 NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas as an assistant coach on the U.S. team.

NBA Ditches Coke for Pepsi After a 30-Year Partnership

via Ad Week

Pepsi gets beverage rights for all 4 major sports leagues

By severing Coca-Cola's nearly 30-year relationship with the NBA, PepsiCo will achieve a clean marketing sweep of the four major professional sports leagues this fall.

Under the five-year deal, PepsiCo will become the official food and beverage company of the NBA, WNBA, NBA D-League and USA Basketball and will control beverage rights for the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA. Coke will not be an NBA sponsor for the first time since 1986.

By adding the NBA, Pepsi definitely wins this round of the cola wars, said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest.

"In any marketing tool chest, there are lots of different tools—player deals, big deals," Sicher said. "Today, PepsiCo took over one important tool in the sports marketing tool chest."

Other factors drove the deal, which covers both the U.S. and China, according to Emilio Collins, the NBA's evp of global marketing partnerships.

During negotiations, PepsiCo offered the NBA a chance to work with salty snacks inlcuding Doritos and Ruffles, as well as beverages like Mountain Dew, Aquafina and Brisk.

"The level of enthusiasm across their broad portfolio of brands was really second to none," Collins said.

"One of the most compelling aspects of this relationship is their incredible commitment to activation," Collins added. "Across not only the brands, but also in aligning with youth, we are working on a number of youth initiatives."

Coke won't be out of the NBA picture completely. Teams and players—like Sprite endorser LeBron James—can still cut their own deals with either Coke or Pepsi. But teams tend to sign with league sponsors.

Omnicom Group's BBDO handles the Mountain Dew brand while OMD handles media planning and buying for a variety of brands. PepsiCo spokeswoman Jennifer Ryan said the deal will not affect current agencies.

The deal between PepsiCo and the NBA was first reported Monday by SportsBusiness Journal and Beverage Digest. In a statement, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said she wants to "redefine the meaning of sports marketing partnerships."