Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Pepsi Enlists Canine Help

The North American division of the Madison Avenue as “critters” - the sobri- The way to achieve it is “to differenti- Pepsi-Cola Company is going to the quet bestowed upon them by a master ate ourselves in the root beer category,” dogs - to a dog, more specifically - to of the genre, the Leo Burnett agency - she adds, which could be accomplished help stimulate sales of one of its proliferated for decades. They peddled with a character. smaller soft-drink brands. packaged foods (Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes), over- But which kind of character? Enter the-counter remedies Character, which was spun off from the (Speedy for Alka-Selt- advertising division of Will Vinton Stu- zer) and soft drinks, dios, the production company known too (Sprite for Coca- for Claymation characters like the Cali- Cola, a pixie that even fornia Raisins. As the Character Devel- lent its name to opment Lab at Vinton, it worked with Coke’s sibling lemon- agencies like Burnett on projects like re- lime soda). The device vitalizing the Maytag Man character; in fell out of favor by the that instance, the recommendation was 1970’s as consumers to pair the familiar “lonely repairman” began perceiving char- with a younger, more active partner acters as dated relics who would symbolize Maytag’s innova- of a bygone era of bal- tive new products. lyhoo, and was sup- planted by characters

Character LLC borrowed from mov- ies, TV shows and oth- For Mug, second in the root beer catego- er elements of popular culture. ry between Barq’s from Coca-Cola and A&W from Cadbury Schweppes, Pepsi- But like leg warmers and the movie mu- Cola North America is introducing an sical, characters created for ads are mak- animated character, named simply Dog. ing a comeback. The idea now is that critters - if properly conceived and pre- The canine will serve as the focus of ad- sented - can help a brand make an emo- vertising and promotions in stores and tional bond with consumers, a goal par- on the Internet, with a budget to be de- ticularly prized in these days of termined, as well as appearing on cans, disaffection and disconnection. bottles and cartons. Dog, a bulldog on a Character LLC mission, was developed in collaboration “When we looked at our brand, we saw “Maytag was the watershed because it with Character, a consulting company it was really generic,” says Rita Stock- showed how important characters could in Portland, Ore., that specializes in cre- ett, senior brand manager for the flavor be in the arena of brand strategy,” says ating and reviving brand characters. brands at Pepsi-Cola North America in David Altschul, the president of Purchase, N.Y. “Our objective is how Character, “by adding some emotional Selling products with proprietary char- do we go from ‘Give me a root beer’ to resonance to the relationship with the acters was once a mainstay strategy of ‘Give me a Mug.’ " audience.” Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Ms. Stockett and her colleagues ap- The story of Dog is being told on a Web proached Character as they sought to re- site developed by the Dallas office of design Mug’s packages after conduct- Tribal DDB, the interactive division of ing research about the brand, which has the DDB Worldwide division of the Om- suffered lately from softening sales, and nicom Group. Visitors to the site root beer, which is losing market share (www.mugrootbeer.com) are greeted by to newer soft-drink flavors. In focus a bold headline, “The Adventures of groups, consumers were more attracted Dog,” and are invited to “Team up with to packages with characters, but Pepsi- Dog as he travels across America in Cola North America was having difficul- search ofÖ” ty narrowing the choices. In the initial episode, which unfolds “We did recommend a character, to put a with each mouse click in colorful pan- face on all the elements underlying the els styled like comic books, Dog is in- Character LLC brand, and went through different troduced as the companion of Tex, a types,” says Jim Hardison, creative di- “cowboy truck driver for Mug root beer.” site, Ms. Stockett says, which is being rector at Character. “We went through Dog and Tex are on a trip on the prover- promoted on Mug packaging and signs some wild animals, some mythical crea- bial “dark and stormy night” when Tex on store shelves. Because Mug is a tures, but kept coming back to a bull- swerves to avoid a deer and veers off small brand in sales volume compared dog.” the road. After the accident, Tex is tak- with behemoths like Pepsi-Cola, Diet en away by ambulance; the next morn- Pepsi or Mountain Dew, there has not “The bulldog represents what Mug is ing, Dog wakes up alone and “heads off been media advertising for Mug in a about, what the brand stands for and in search of his lost master.” couple of years. If that were to change, what root beer is,” Mr. Hardison ex- Mr. Hardison says, there could be televi- plains. “Root beer is exotic but familiar. “What will happen to Dog next?” the sion commercials telling the Dog and There’s a powerful quality to the drink, final screen reads, in classic Hollywood Tex story along with “trading cards and but it’s mellow, laid back. It’s old-fash- serial-film fashion. “Check back soon comic books.” ioned, but still compelling. It’s wild, to find out!” The visuals are augmented but safe, and attractive, but not really a with sound effects and an interactive Dog is not the first bulldog to peddle leading-man type.” game to hunt for objects like a key in products. One represents Miller’s Red various scenes; find all three icons and Dog beer brand. Another bulldog has All those qualities are epitomized by the reward is a download of music, a been the longtime symbol of Mack the bulldog, he adds, and especially fit screen saver or “Dog wallpaper.” trucks. Then there’s the bulldog in com- Mug because the breed is known by its mercials for Kibbles ‘n Bits dog food. face - yes, its mug. The plain name, “Root beer makes you comfortable; Dog, also evokes the down-to-earth there’s a satisfying, homey quality to it,” Bulldogs are indeed “used fairly fre- qualities of root beer as well as echoing Mr. Hardison says. “We’re taking all quently in advertising,” Mr. Hardison the brand name. that away from Dog and putting him in says. “That’s why we need to distin- pursuit of it, to find his lost master who guish this dog, go beyond the face, if Ms. Stockett and her colleagues, who represents what root beer represents.” we want to own the character in the took part in what’s called a “Character long run.” Camp” -a visit to Character’s office to Character has produced a plot map for brainstorm ideas -, were enthusiastic the episodes, he adds, laying out an arc about the results. “that theoretically will end with a reso- lution of the quest.” “As soon as people hear about this dog, they go right into telling a story,” Ms. Episodes are to be introduced at the rate Stockett says. “It’s engaging.” of one each month or two on the Web