‘Legend’
Executive Summary
India is a country where we like putting our heroes on a pedestal. Giant statues and gargantuan cut-outs of movie stars, politicians etc is therefore quite commonplace here. Mountain Dew made common people feel like ‘legends’ or heroes, by using cutting-edge, real-time, 3D Holographic technology to create 25 feet high holographic statues of people who shared their personal stories of overcoming their fears. Till now, all brand communication and activation had focused only on acts of physical daredevilry. ‘Legend’ was an immersive public demonstration of the brand’s new intent of being more inclusive in its ‘courage to win’ communication narrative.
Market Background & Objectives
Weaning Off A Winning Formula:
For 20 years, Mountain Dew communication has featured celebrity action heroes performing death-and-physics-defying stunts. The brand personified courage in the face of larger-than-life fears, with its signature line ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ (‘Beyond fear lies victory’) being a part of Indian pop culture.
While Mountain Dew dominated the market, 57% of its sales came from hinterland India. Which implied that the brand’s time-tested narrative of physical daredevilry was not resonating as well with urban India, which accounted for 60% of the category sales.
Mountain Dew needed to strengthen its connect with urban India. It needed something dramatic and disruptive enough to engage with urban India.
Insight & Strategic Thinking
Helping India Stand Tall:
Within India lies the ‘Twindia’ of Urban, Affluent ‘Achiever’ India, residing in the cities and metros – and the Hinterland ‘Striver’ India, residing in the smaller towns and villages. With just 43% of Mountain Dew sales coming from urban India, the brand had a clear charter of strengthening its connect with this aspirational segment which accounted for 60% of the category’s sales. Mountain Dew needed a strategy that would help build relevance with urban India without risking the pop-culture-worthy equity the brand commanded in hinterland India.
Mountain Dew brand communication till now had always been about larger-than-life heroism featuring our super-human, movie-star brand endorsers. But is heroism the sole birth-right of the celluloid hero? Is physical daredevilry the only barometer of courage? For the common man, Mountain Dew’s fear construct reflected only the fears of the few, because not all of us jump down mountains and dive across skies!
Even The Ordinary Can Be Legendary
We therefore shifted the brand narrative from death-defying stunts of ‘reel-heroes’ to life- affirming vulnerabilities of real people. From ‘No fear too big’ to ‘No fear too small.’ We gave real people a platform to own up to their everyday fears and share stories of how they overcame them. And with that one switcheroo, we democratised fear in the world’s largest democracy.
Creative Implementation
80 Feet Long Garlands On 100 Feet Tall Cut-Outs
If there is one size that acts as a good metaphor for India, it is XXL. Big country, big population, big too on hero-worshipping! Perhaps no other country fawns over its demi-gods – be they movie-stars, cricketers or politicians – like India does. Giant cut-outs of these stars are garlanded, bathed in milk and literally worshipped by fans. And parents proudly point out to statues of national icons in their bid to inspire their children.
In a country where your achievement is measured by the size of your statue, where we love to put our heroes on the pedestal, Mountain Dew honoured the hero within all of us by ‘erecting’ our statues and putting us all on a pedestal. And perhaps there was no more dramatic or immersive way for the brand to make its fear narrative more inclusive and relevant.
The Legend Holographic interactive brand experience was built around the belief that a moment of courage can have a significant impact in a person’s life and overall attitude. Executed in DLF Avenue Mall in Delhi, the capital of India and a key urban market, the experience went live for 14 days. The entire atmosphere was so designed to ensure that every person who walked in to the venue felt like a hero.
An automated software with live rendering of an actual 360 degree video, shot in real time on a rotating platform, and the usage of Pepper Ghost technology for holographic projection ensured that the participants saw their legendary 25 feet high statues within a 30 seconds turnaround time!
A #ConquerwithCourage Wall was also installed and it encouraged people to share their personal courage stories. Dew used Holographic projection, restricted to celebs till now, to celebrate the common man.
Impact
100000 people participated in the event.
Countless legends were discovered and they in turn shared their holograms on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
The event attracted 30 million views on YouTube alone.
Awards
Abby One Show Awards 2023
