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Efren Ramirez (above and on home page) channels his inner Chicano, as he chronicles tales from the crazy world as he knows it via TV, radio and online spots created by Dieste Harmel & Partners.
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Pepsi's Sierra Mist Aims Ads at Multicultural Consumers
July 14, 2008
By Della de Lafuente
NEW YORK "Refresh your mind" is the tag for Pepsi's Sierra Mist campaign out today (July 14), a dual market approach targeting multiethnic consumers in English and Latinos in Spanish.
The TV and online creative offer a unique take on U.S. pop culture because the multicultural effort in English has been crafted from a Latino perspective, a strategy likely to become more common as marketers acknowledge the influence and impact of Hispanics on the mainstream. Dieste Harmel & Partners, Dallas, handled the creative duties.
"It's a truly multicultural campaign that's going to hit in the mainstream coming from a Latino point of view," Aldo Quevedo, Dieste's president and chief creative officer, said in an interview.
Key to the dual market strategy is conveying messaging that is humorous while encouraging consumers to keep their minds open and refreshed, Quevedo said, noting that Pepsi's target is millennial consumers who are urban, multicultural youth. "Though the work is going mainstream, it skews heavily to a multicultural audience," Quevedo said.
The initial effort will have a Latino influence with other ethnic groups influencing the messaging of future ads, he added.
At the center of the Sierra Mist TV spots is actor Efren Ramirez, known for his scene-stealing role as "Pedro" in the 2004 comedy "Napoleon Dynamite."
In the TV spot, "Wedding Girl," which breaks today in English via ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, MTV and other cable networks and in Spanish on Telemundo and Univision, Ramirez channels his inner Chicano, recounting the tale of a woman he once knew who was obsessed with getting married. To ensure she would score the bridal bouquet, and thus be the next in line to marry, the woman annihilated the competition with power karate moves and kicks, eliminating everyone else from the field of would-be brides. "He closes each spot with the message: 'It's a crazy world -- refresh your mind,'" Quevedo said.
A second TV spot, "Mannequin Man," is planned for broadcast later in major U.S. Hispanic markets, per an agency representative. It focuses on a male consumer who would do anything to get his hands on the latest fashions gratis, Quevedo said.
In the online spot, "The Whiner," which will be posted at the Sierra Mist dedicated site, RefreshYourMind.com, Ramirez waxes philosophical about the infamous crying Britney Spears fan turned Web celeb, pondering the question: how did the guy get so famous for so little?
Dieste worked jointly with Pepsi's lead digital shop Tribal DDB, New York and San Francisco, to create the interactive campaign for the Web, per the agency.
A mobile marketing component, featuring downloadable content, is expected to launch later via RefreshYourMind.com, Quevedo said, adding that the content likely will generate word-of-mouth and other non-traditional promotional buzz to build around the brand.
Dieste has worked with Pepsi since the mid 1990s and with the soft drink maker's Sierra Mist brand since 2002, per an agency rep.
Sierra Mist's ad spending in all measured U.S. media totaled $28.3 million in 2007, with ad spending in Hispanic network and cable TV totaling $8.4 million last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
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