Mountain Dew

While Mountain Dew became the third largest carbonated soft drink at retail in 1999, they are in need of a new advertising campaign. Their “Do the Dew” campaign has proved very successful for them up to this point, but concerns lie in overexposure of extreme sports. Major sponsorship of alternative sports from large companies such as AT&T and Slim Jim decreased the impact of advertising due to oversaturation. Aditionally, Mountain Dew had reason to be weary of the growing popularity and threat of non CSD’s such as Red Bull and Gatorade.

In terms of impact on sales and profit, the “right” media section has historically been one of the most significant, critical decisions that Mountain Dew executives have made. In determining the next best direction for them to head, it is important to review the target audience, psychographics of the consumer base and current perceptions of the brand. It is imperative that the chosen commercials align with Mountain Dew’s communications strategy. Of the five presented concepts, I believe the following three commercials will deliver the best results: Cheetah, Dew or Die and Mock Opera.

Let’s first examine why Labor of Love and Showstopper don’t satisfy Mountain Dew’s strategy. These ads do not cater to the target audience of male teens (18 year-old epicenter). While childbirth is arguably an exhilarating experience, it is not one that will resonate with young males. Most are not at a place in their life when they are contemplating parenthood and certainly not childbirth. Therefore, Labor of Love should be removed from the contenders. While Showstopper’s “extravagantly choreographed production number” attempts to bridge a gap between theatre and extreme sports, it is too far of a leap. WebMD explains why people watch extreme sports-

“It’s human nature to have curiosity about the outcome of such extreme sports and how people can defy death. They are testing themselves to an extreme measure, and watching them push themselves while you say, ‘I could never do that,’ is fascinating” (Hatfield). 

This hardly sounds like someone who will be intrigued by dancing BMX riders and skateboarders in silver costumes. Dew Dudes have been established as independent individuals and will not connect well with synchronized sports.

“Symbolize that drinking Mountain Dew is an exhilarating experience.” Cheetah, Dew or Die and Mock Opera all do this well and effectively meet the company’s communication strategy. This is achieved through affective messaging which Clow and Bacck define as advertisements trying to evoke feelings or emotions and match those feelings with the good, service or company. All three ads feature the Dew Dudes who have received positive response in previous ads of similar vein. This leaves reason to believe that featuring the Dew Dudes will resonate with current consumers as well as attract new ones. By adding new, fresh, exhilarating story lines within the same genre, the targeted market will become more familiar with the concept. Mountain Dew has prided their ads on intense experience that will still be present in these three ads, just in new and innovative ways.

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