Brand: Mountain Dew
Agency: BBDO New York
Creative Director: Doris Cassar
Capping off a terrific run of extreme-sports-themed commercials, Mountain Dew has now brought the action indoors: In a new spot, more than 100 gold-lamé-clad inline skaters and dirt bikers execute synchronized skate moves and wheelies on a cavernous soundstage. To the beat of a jaunty big-band soundtrack, and under a steady rain of golden glitter, the riders catch and drink from cans that are flying through the air, spin into a pinwheel formation for the benefit of an aerial shot, and end up in a revolving four-layer human cake topped by a giant can of Dew. It's a showstopper of a spot, even on MTV, where it holds its own against the most hyperactive 'N Sync or Korn video, and it's surreally amusing to watch tough-looking skate dudes being forced to channel the Rockettes. But irony aside, there's something completely winning about this spectacle: Mountain Dew speaking to its target consumers -- teenagers who have turbocharged the caffeinated non-cola-beverage sector -- by paying homage to the Busby Berkeley musical. Too bad Mountain Dew's parent company, PepsiCo, decided to use all its Oscar-night commercial time to serve up more of those spots featuring that creepy little "Joy of Cola" girl. For spinning gold with its clever referencing of good old-fashioned movie magic, Mountain Dew deserved the spotlight.
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