Production: When Cadbury-Schweppes wanted to pump up the new cherry chocolate incarnation of soda pop standby Dr. Pepper, it turned to an established Web video star: Tay Zonday. Zonday, whose first viral video hit "Chocolate Rain" has garnered more than 11 million views on YouTube, was tapped by Endemol's True Entertainment to star in the viral marketing push. The clip, shot in the style of a hip-hop music video, doesn't directly depict the product it promotes until about 2 minutes into the segment. The heaviest branding in the clip is a short static shot of the Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper logo in the final seconds of the video.
Result: "Cherry Chocolate Rain" garnered more than a million views on YouTube in its first four days on the Web. Executive Producer Steve Weinstock said he shot the video in a day and the entire production took only about four days. The cost? About 1/4 of the outlay for a traditional TV spot. On a cost-per-thousand evaluation of the video, it's an extraordinary advertising win, Weinstock said. Beyond YouTube, True Entertainment and Dr. Pepper plan on extending the life of the project with distribution on other sites and media, including mobile.
-Greg Baumann
Result: "Cherry Chocolate Rain" garnered more than a million views on YouTube in its first four days on the Web. Executive Producer Steve Weinstock said he shot the video in a day and the entire production took only about four days. The cost? About 1/4 of the outlay for a traditional TV spot. On a cost-per-thousand evaluation of the video, it's an extraordinary advertising win, Weinstock said. Beyond YouTube, True Entertainment and Dr. Pepper plan on extending the life of the project with distribution on other sites and media, including mobile.
-Greg Baumann
Dr. Pepper teamed with Endemol's True Entertainment to produce "Cherry Chocolate Rain," an homage to Tay Zonday's "Chocolate Rain" viral hit.
