To celebrate the “oddly perfect pairing” that is the new Pepsi Mango, beverage giant PepsiCo has embraced the world of online dating, turning over some of its digital media inventory to advertise real-world singles as part of the product’s launch campaign.

Available on store shelves nationwide from Monday, March 22, Pepsi Mango marks the company’s first permanent addition to its flavor portfolio in five years. It also marks Pepsi’s first simultaneous release of a flavored cola’s regular and Zero Sugar varieties.

“Simply put, mango’s having a moment right now,” says Todd Kaplan, VP of marketing at PepsiCo. Consumption of the tropical fruit in the U.S. has grown three-fold over the past decade, and sales of mango-flavored beverages—a particularly strong performer in the alcohol category—now approach $9 billion annually, he adds, calling it “one of the most popular fruits in the world.”

Flavored beverages are a “huge growth driver” in the cola space right now, he says, noting that the flavor profile and branding of Pepsi Mango “is something that works with our core Pepsi consumers” as well as other demographics, such as Hispanic consumers.

To announce Pepsi Mango to the world, the brand considered other unique pairings that unexpectedly work together, eventually settling on the theme of genuine relationships as an avenue to launch the new mango-flavored drink. “A lot of things that are so right for each other and work so well together, you’d never expect, and dating is one of the areas where that’s the case,” Kaplan says.

After recruiting a batch of 10 “interesting, young singles” via online callout, the company will begin converting its some of its social media ad inventory to help find eligible bachelors and bachelorettes find their perfect match. Those profiles are slated to run nationwide on Instagram beginning March 28.

The campaign was partially inspired by the video-dating fad of the 1980s, Kaplan explains, with each individual’s personal ad being accompanied by a fun introduction and their contact information so prospective partners “can slide into their DMs.”

Beyond the social activations, Pepsi Mango’s ad rollout involves a TV commercial cut in both English- and Spanish-language versions that’s set to Jason Derulo’s top 40 song “Take You Dancing.” First airing next week during shows such as “American Idol” and “The Masked Singer,” the TV spot was handled by creative agency CLS, while other elements, including Pepsi’s digital dating campaign, come courtesy of VaynerMedia.

PepsiCo also has a content partnership in the works with ViacomCBS and its in-house creative team Velocity that will position Pepsi Mango as part of a “new reality dating show” in the near future, Kaplan confirms. He is tight-lipped on specifics, however, saying only that more information on the program will be made available next month.

The upcoming venture with ViacomCBS won’t be the first time PepsiCo has gone beyond commercials to advertise its product on TV. In December, the company approached Fox to create a trivia-based game show dubbed “Cherries Wild,” tied to a Pepsi Wild Cherry product integration, in a bid to foster brand awareness beyond the traditional TV ad break. 

Starting with a six-episode run on the network, “Cherries Wild” marks a continuation of the brand’s long-standing pop culture marketing strategy, which has previously been employed via other Fox-Pepsi collaborations including tie-ins on “Empire” and “The X Factor.”