Mountain Dew's Green Label Open Studio Winner Launches Film

via Media Post

Mountain Dew has chosen the winner of a content campaign centering on young film makers looking for a spotlight.

The partnership, Green Label Studios Open Call, under its Green Label art and lifestyle platform, launched last year and involved outsider film maker Robert Rodriguez. It rewarded 10 movie-camera wielding combatants, who submitted short films that had to more or less double as youth-focused long-form ads for Mountain Dew, under its “Do the Dew” banner. 

The 10, chosen by a Mountain Dew panel from among all of the contest submissions, each got a $10,000 production grant to make a piece of content for the soda brand. Then in New York last summer they showed their films down in Soho, where judging took place. The winner got a $250,000 production grant to make a film for Green-Label.com and mentorship by Rodriguez and agency Orci. Mountain Dew got the content, product placement and branding in the films.  

The PepsiCo unit has released the winning movie, by Nathan Balli. The 2:47 film, “Arctic Surf,” follows the exploits of a pair of madmen who enjoy surfing in Alaska. The film follows their adventures, including the trip via charter plane and fishing vessel to the remote, gelid location, the stunning half-moon Aialik Bay flanked by snow-dappled mountains. A rep for the PepsiCo unit says that as of now, the content will just live on the Mountain Dew YouTube page; there are no plans to put any of it into advertising.

Mountain Dew also launched a program called Green Label Sound: Open Call at the end of last year, which was a national search for the next up-and-coming musical talent, with Kelechi being named the winner. But way back in 2011 the company got into the record-label business, producing its first full-length record, the debut of rap duo Cool Kids’ When Fish Ride Bicycles under the Green Label Sound label. The spokesperson says the brand is looking to continually expand the original Open Call program to different relevant verticals, including more in music.

Lots of brands are getting or have gotten into the music act either with record labels, or more commonly content curation (Honda Stage among them): there’s Converse’s Rubber Tracks label, and Toyota’s “youth” brand Scion, which got into the record mix  back in 2005 with Scion A/V.

Lipton Ice Tea Unveils New Summer Campaign

via Talking Retail

Britvic and Pepsi Lipton International have launched a new multi-channel summer campaign for the Lipton Ice Tea brand.

Targeting the brand’s core audience of busy 18-34 year olds, the campaign is centred around a series of London-based events which aim to get Londoners to break from their normal routine and experience their city in a different way. The events series will be supported by advertising, social media activity and experiential sampling.

The first event is set to take place on the 5th June with the first-ever live gig at London’s Sky Garden in the ‘Walkie Talkie’ tower, featuring folk-pop duo Hudson Taylor. Other events will include a 100m slip and slide at Kings Boulevard in Kings Cross on the 19th and 20th June and a DJ set at Old Street Roundabout with legendary DJ Norman Jay MBE on the 10th July. Media partnerships with TimeOut and XFM will encourage users to sign up for a chance to win tickets at www.beadaybreaker.co.uk.

The brand will also be one of the first to host live content from the events on Periscope – the live streaming app, allowing users who can’t attend the morning events to watch them live via streaming. In addition to London-based large format outdoor and tube advertising, the campaign is also underpinned by nationwide print advertising communicating Lipton Ice Tea’s perfect serve, in a newly designed jam jar serve.

The launch of the campaign follows last month’s announcement that Lipton Ice Tea has updated its range by adding a new raspberry-flavoured variant. The new flavour joins existing variants Peach, Lemon and Mango to complete the range. Further to this, the Lipton Ice Tea range has been recently reformulated to contain 30% less sugar which has resulted in each 500ml bottle now containing less than 100 calories. The brand has also refreshed its packaging for the PET and glass bottles with a more premium label, bottle shape and texture; giving the product a more modern look.

Kevin McNair, GB marketing director for Britvic, said: “We are very excited about the launch of this consumer campaign for Lipton Ice Tea. By driving awareness and excitement around the new-look and extended range we are confident the campaign will result in greater sales for retailers and operators alike.”

Crystal Pepsi Is Poised for a Comeback

via AdAge

PepsiCo Hints That Its 1990s-era Clear Cola Is Returning

Crystal Pepsi appears headed for a comeback, that much is clear. But details on when and how the 1990s-era cola will return remain murky.

The clear cola was first introduced in 1992 but lasted only a few years. Despite its short lifespan, the drink apparently gained a loyal following of consumers who have lobbied PepsiCo to bring it back.

On Tuesday, the cola giant sent its strongest signal yet that Crystal might soon be available again by responding to one of its biggest fans, competitive eating star Kevin Strahle. Mr. Strahle, who goes by the name L.A. Beast on Twitter, tweeted an image of a message he said he received from Pepsi that stated: "We definitely hear you and all your followers and we think you'll all be happy with what's in store."

View image here

A PepsiCo spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the message to Ad Age. She declined to provide other details, but said "we think Crystal Pepsi fans are going to be happy with what we have planned."

The apparently imminent launch could follow Coca-Cola's move late last year to bring back Surge, a 1990s-era citrus-flavored soda. The company in September made the brand available for sale on Amazon.com, pointing to lobbying from fan groups such as one called the "The Surge Movement," which has more than 200,000 Facebook fans.

It is unclear if Pepsi plans to make a similar e-commerce play, or if Crystal Pepsi will get wider distribution. In the early 1990s, the launch was backed with a $40 million ad budget and major hoopla, "only to fizzle among consumers who had grown disenchanted with clear sodas," Ad Age reported in 1994. At the time Pepsi sought to spark new interest by reformulating Crystal with a citrus taste.

Crystal's likely return comes after soda brand Zevia in May announced it was going "color-free" across its 17-flavor portfolio. Zevia -- which touts itself as a "zero calorie, naturally sweetened soda brand" -- had previously used caramel colors in its colas, ginger root beer, ginger ale, Dr. Zevia and cream varieties. Caramel coloring has fallen out of favor with some consumers.

Zevia also announced that it had received certification as being GMO-free. "Shoppers want four things from the sodas they drink: flavors, bubbles, sweetness and enjoyment," Zevia CEO Paddy Spence said in a statement. "But they don't want artificial sweeteners, artificial preservatives, artificial flavors, GMO ingredients and caramel color. We are the first brand to deliver on the core promise of the soda category, without the ingredients that consumers don't want."

Nas & Drake Lyrics Appear On Limited Edition #ObeyYourVerse Sprite Products

via All HipHop

(AllHipHop News) One of the greatest lyricists from the 1990’s and one of the social media quote leaders of the 2010’s now have their words imprinted on select Sprite products. The soft drink company is releasing bottles and cans which feature lines from Queens emcee Nas and Toronto representative Drake.

The limited edition merchandise include words from classic Nas’ songs like “The World Is Yours” and popular Drake tracks like “0 To 100.” Both rappers performed at Sprite’s New York City Obey Your Thirst concert in February.

The Coco-Cola subsidiary has also teamed with other artists such as K Camp, Nebu and Veronica Vega for the Sprite Sound promotion. Sprite also sponsored the 2015 Thirst Of The Burroughs competition during NBA All-Star weekend in NYC. Staten Island took home the title thanks to rapper Tyrone Briggs and fashion designer Rajsean Bell.

Coke's New Twitter Ads Call Out Viewers by Name

via AdWeek

Fifteen or so years ago, email marketers started following in the footsteps of their direct mail predecessors by including the recipient's name at the top of the message—and often in the subject line, too. And now the practice is coming to Twitter ads.

Coca-Cola has been buying Promoted Tweets that show up in viewers' Twitter feeds and address them by their first names. The ad copy starts with: "Hey [NAME], #ShareACoke is back! Order..." You can see the full promo in the above image.

The new tactic is part of a larger, ongoing "Share a Coke" campaign that debuted earlier this spring. The company is encouraging people to buy 8-ounce bottles of the soda, personalized with their names, for $5 apiece. 

Coke wasn't available for comment. But it appears the Atlanta-based soda giant is employing Twitter's Tailored Audiences platform in an innovative way to create this targeted style of advertising.

Twitter deferred to Coca-Cola about the campaign and didn't state whether other brands were using the personalized call to action.

But it would certainly interest any marketer that is looking to increase its click-through rates on the microblogging platform.

PepsiCo Gets Crafty With New 'Stubborn Soda' Brand

via Adage

Here's more evidence that the craft beer boom is spilling into soda: PepsiCo today confirmed that it will soon launch a new line of craft sodas called "Stubborn Soda," that will be sold at fountains at select foodservice accounts.

The launch follows the recent introduction of Pepsi's Caleb's Kola and Mountain Dew Dewshine, which are also meant to play in the burgeoning craft soda space. Stubborn will come in flavors including black cherry with tarragon, classic root beer, lemon berry acai, agave vanilla cream, orange hibiscus and pineapple cream, a PepsiCo spokeswoman confirmed in an email.

"Following our recent launches of Caleb's Kola and Mountain Dew Dewshine, we're continuing to explore the craft space with Stubborn Soda and its unique, contemporary flavor profiles," she said. "Introducing it on fountain with an engaging piece of innovative equipment offers consumers a new take on the traditional soft-drink experience while also creating value for customers."

PepsiCo did not disclose its marketing or ad plans for Stubborn, which is considered to be in an "incubation phase."

The launch was first reported by Beverage Digest, which noted that while craft beers have gained significant traction, interest in craft sodas is relatively new, and "there is no consensus, at least yet, as to exactly what 'craft' means in the [soda] world." However, the publication noted that the use of sugar as a sweetener and glass bottles "seem to be common."

Pepsi's Stubborn brand will be made with "fair trade certified cane sugar and natural flavors," according to PepsiCo. And in an apparent nod to beer, Pepsi has created a new fountain equipment for the brand that includes a "tap-like pouring ritual." Caleb's Kola, which was introduced in late 2014, will also be available in the new machines.

Caleb's is made from cane sugar, kola nuts from Africa, spices and a hint of citrus. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi plugged the brand at a Beverage Digest conference last year saying that "I think there is actually a huge potential for craft cola." She added that "people still love the cola taste -- it's just lost some of its cool factor and I think products like Caleb's are bringing back some of the cool factor."

Still, it remains to be seen just how big of market there is for craft sodas. In the beer industry, crafts have gotten a ton of attention in recent years and have enjoyed consistently strong year-over-year growth. But traditional brands like Bud Light still dominate when it comes to market share. The Brewer's Association, which represents craft brewers, estimated that craft brews account for $19.6 billion of the $101.5 billion U.S. beer market.

Beverage Digest noted that Stubborn will likely supplement, not replace, mainstream brands in food service accounts, as outlets would "likely want to keep selling Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mtn Dew and other big brands."

New Coke Bottle Made Entirely from Plants

via CNN

The new Coke bottle looks so good, you could eat it. That's because it's made entirely of plant materials.

Coca-Cola (KO) showed off its new bottle at the Expo Milano food technology conference on Wednesday. The bottle is plastic (don't actually try to eat it), but instead of using petroleum, the bottle's plastic is derived from sugar cane.

The new Coke bottle is part of the company's efforts to make its containers from renewable ingredients. Coca-Cola debuted "PlantBottle" packaging in 2009, which is 30% comprised of plant materials. The new PlantBottle that Coke debuted this week is its first to be made 100% from sugar cane plastic.

Coca-Cola said the sugar cane used in the PlantBottles comes from Brazil. They also contain waste products from India that are left over from processing sugar cane. Though those are currently the only two sources of materials for its PlantBottles, Coke said it it also looking at converting fruit stems, peels and bark into plastic in the future.

The soda company didn't say when it would start shipping Coke in the new bottles, but Coca-Cola noted that it is partnering with biotechnology firms "to move from lab to commercial scale in producing a 100% plant-based plastic bottle." The ultimate goal, Coke said, is "a 100% renewable, responsibly sourced bottle that is fully recyclable."

Since 2009, Coca-Cola says it has distributed more than 35 billion plant bottle packages in more than 40 countries. The company estimates that it has eliminated 319,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere as a result -- the equivalent of CO₂ emissions from burning 743,000 barrels of oil or 36 million gallons of gasoline.

About 30% of Coke bottles in North America are PlantBottles, but just 7% of Coke bottles around the world are made from plant materials. The company says its goal is to exclusively use PlantBottles in place of petroleum-based plastic bottles by 2020.

"We believe we have a responsibility to produce these packages more sustainably," the company said in a statement. "Environmental stewardship is not something new for us; it's part of our heritage."

Coke said it is working with Ford (F), Heinz, Nike (NKE), Procter & Gamble (PG) and SeaWorld(SEAS) to help those companies use more plant materials in their plastics as well. Heinz ketchup bottles, plastic cups at SeaWorld and certain test models of the Fusion Energi hybrid sedan use PlantBottle plastic.

"The Coca-Cola company is determined to lead the consumer packaged goods industry away from its dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and towards using renewable plant-based alternatives," the company said. "It hasn't been an easy task, but it shows our commitment to doing the right thing in the right way."

Instagram's Ads Are About to Get More Facebook-y

via AdAge

Instagram's ads aren't just for brand building anymore. They're also for business building.

Instagram is tweaking its ads and the ways advertisers can buy them to make them as suitable for pushing product to likely customers as for promoting a brand to just about anyone.

In short, Instagram's ads and ad-buying process are becoming more on par with those of its parent company Facebook. For example, by the end of this year a retailer would be able to set up an Instagram ad targeted to its existing customers that includes a link to the retailer's e-commerce site and run the ad without calling up an Instagram sales rep -- just like it would for a Facebook ad.

"What we're seeing now from Instagram is really them maturing the business model. When they first came out of the gate [with ads in October 2013], it was very much a brand play," said Jonathan Schaaf, president of digital investment at Omnicom Media Group, which inked an ad deal with Instagram worth up to $100 million in March 2014.

Instagram is expanding beyond the small pool of digital-spending brand advertisers to the bigger pool of digital-spending direct-response advertisers. Individually those direct-response advertisers -- which include giants like AT&T and Geico as well as mom-and-pop shops -- may not all spend as much annually as the bigger brands. But because they know more precisely who they want to see their ad and how they want to measure the ad's effectiveness -- meriting their categorization as "direct-response" advertisers -- they're typically willing to pay more per ad and able to justify the higher cost.

Currently direct-response advertisers, in aggregate, are spending more money on digital ads than brand advertisers. Direct-response campaigns accounted for 59% of the $50 billion advertisers spent on digital ads in the U.S. last year, according to eMarketer estimates.

But these direct-response advertisers are usually only willing to pay for an ad if it leads to a certain outcome. These advertisers care about clicks more than eyeballs. That's why Instagram is rolling out links to all of its photo ads.

After adding links with its multi-photo Carousel ads in March, Instagram is rolling out links to its original single-photo ads (but still not adding them to unpaid Instagram posts). Beyond looking at a pretty picture and liking or commenting on it, brands can now try to get people to click on the ad to do things like buy a product on an advertiser's site or download an app. But brands won't be able to add the calls to action to Instagram's video ads, and people won't be able to purchase advertisers' products within Instagram.

"It's consistent with Instagram being a shop window, a lookbook, a product catalog. This is the next stage in enabling that. We're not going to the state of in-app commerce, but we do think this is both an advertiser-desired and a community-desired set of features," said Instagram's global head of business and brand development James Quarles.

At first, advertisers will have two ways of paying for these direct-response ads. They can pay for each click on an ad's included link. Or they can tell Instagram how much they'd be willing to pay for a click, and Instagram will serve the ads to people it believes are most likely to click on the ad -- within an advertiser's defined parameters -- and charge the advertiser based on the number of ad impressions served, which can be cheaper than paying per click.

 If an influx of direct-response advertisers doesn't drive up the cost of Instagram's ads, an influx of targeting options might. "It's a very real question and concern," Mr. Schaaf said. Typically the more targeted an ad is, the more expensive it is. And Instagram's ads will be soon be a lot more targeted.

Until now advertisers could only target their Instagram ads according to the intended audience's age, gender and country of residence. In an age where Facebook's advertisers can target ads based on things like what TV shows they likely watch, where they shop, what sports teams they like and where they work, Instagram's ad-targeting options are almost old school. No longer.
 

"We've moved beyond these really big brands that we've initially worked with who prioritized reach primarily. Smaller businesses have narrower audience targets, and we want to help them find those by interests or more specific geolocation demographics," Mr. Quarles said.

By the end of the year, all of the ways that a Facebook ad can be targeted will also be available for Instagram ad-targeting, including the ability for brands to use their own customer data for ad targeting as Facebook's Custom Audiences enables. And Instagram will also add the ability to target its ads based on what accounts people follow on Instagram.

Lipton Ice Tea to Create Giant Water Slide for Summer Event Series

via Event Magazine

Unilever brand Lipton Ice Tea has revealed details of its London-based Daybreakers event series, which will feature a 100-metre slip and slide behind King's Cross station.

Rise & Slide is part of the London-based Lipton Ice Tea Daybreakers campaign

The Rise & Slide event will take place from 7.30am-7.30pm on 19 June along King’s Boulevard in north London.

Fans of the brand have been encouraged to bring swimwear and inflatables to the experience, and will have to register for free tickets through Lipton’s dedicated Be a Daybreaker microsite.

The first event of the series will take place this Friday (5 June) at the Sky Garden and feature a performance from Irish duo Hudson Taylor. One week later (12 June), the brand will host an exclusive morning viewing of the V&A’s exhibition, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

Other Daybreaker events taking place throughout June and July include a luxury commute by cruise, a morning film screening with Rooftop Cinema Club and a ‘dawn party’ at Old Street Roundabout with Good Times DJ Norman Jay. 

Content from the events will be seeded on social networks targeted towards millennials. The campaign will also be supported by media partnerships with XFM and Time Out. 

Lipton Daybreakers will aim to reposition the ice tea as a brand to be consumed by young people throughout the year, rather than just on holiday.

Coke & Pepsi's Social Presence

via Business 2 Community

Maintaining a near duopoly on soda products, Coke and Pepsi are natural enemies.

The contention that exists between the two brands is best characterized by the well-known Pepsi Challenge, which asks strangers to sit down blindfolded, try both products, and decide once and for all which is superior.

The general consensus from the taste test was that Pepsi was better. Of course, identifying which product is preferred is not really that simple. Furthermore, as Malcolm Gladwell points out, there are a few qualms with the methodology of the “sip test,” which was put on by PepsiCo.

Yet beyond the interaction of the fizzy soda against our palates there is another reaction affecting our tastes.

As any marketer will point out, a consumer’s experience is also influenced by every exposure to the brand’s messaging along the way.

So if the difference between these sodas is so marginal that it warrants a blindfolded taste test, then it’s likely that it’s the branding that will ultimately play a big role in consumers’ decisions.

The following analysis examines the ancient soda feud using organically occurring Twitter conversations.

This is the Coke-Pepsi Social Presence Showdown.

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