LeBron James’ opening act for Mtn Dew includes plenty of salsa dancing. The basketball superstar—who left Coca-Cola earlier this year for PepsiCo—stars in a new ad for Mtn Dew’s new energy drink that portrays an alternate version of his life if he was a slacker, instead of an athletic powerhouse and businessman.
The spot from TBWA\Chiat\Day NY shows him confronting the question, “who would I be if I snoozed?” The answer, according to the ad, is a cartoon-watching, pizza-ordering commoner, who teaches salsa lessons instead of schooling competitors on the basketball court. The ad attempts to position the new drink, called Mtn Dew Rise Energy, as a morning jump-start. The tagline, “The Morning Makes You,” appears after the ad shifts from scenes of James’ alternate slacker lifestyle to his real-life pursuits of playing hoops, running businesses and engaging in philanthropy.
The spot, directed by F. Gary Gray, will run nationally on TV and digital.