Best of 2016 No. 10 TV/Film/Branded Content -- Cute, or Horrifying? Mtn Dew Debuts 'Puppymonkeybaby' in Super Bowl Ad

Brand Returns to Game After 16-Year Absence

Published On
Feb 03, 2016

Editor's Pick

Through New Year's, we'll be counting down the best work of the year in TV/Film/Branded Content, Print/Outdoor/Design and Interactive/Integrated (IX) as our picks of the day.

At #10 in TV comes "Puppymonkeybaby," the Super Bowl spot for Mountain Dew's Kickstart line extension. Whether you loved or hated it, the spot was the most talked-about of the big game, with its creepy animal VFX and general weirdness. The idea -- an anatomic amalgamation of three of the most commonly used creative devices in Super Bowl spots -- was both smart and creatively brave.

Original story:

What if a the E-Trade baby was crossbred with the Budweiser puppy and a CareerBuilder monkey, three now unemployed ad stars of Super Bowls past? It might look something like Mtn Dew's "Puppymonkeybaby," the star of a Super Bowl spot for the PepsiCo brand's Kickstart line extension.

The creature busts into the ad as an anatomic amalgamation of three of the most commonly used creative devices in Super Bowl spots. Although, as Ad Age recently pointed out, primates have been a bit of an endangered Super Bowl species of late.

The ad, by BBDO, New York, carries the tagline "three awesome things combined." That is meant to be a reference to Kickstart's formula, which combines Mtn Dew, fruit juice and caffeine.

Mtn Dew returned to the game this year after a 16-year absence, although ads for Kickstart -- which launched in 2013 -- had been shown in Super Bowl pre-game shows in recent years.

PepsiCo considers Kickstart as one of its most successful beverage launches in more than a decade, generating more than $300 million in annual retail sales. The Super Bowl ad comes after Kickstart last month released three new flavors: midnight grape, watermelon, blueberry pomegranate and blood orange.

Credits

Date
Feb 03, 2016
Brand :
Mtn Dew Kickstart
Client :
Mtn Dew Kickstart
Agency :
BBDO-New York
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer :
David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer :
Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Director :
Lauren Connolly
Creative Director, Art Director :
Monty Pera
Creative Director/ Copywriter :
Don Marshall Wilhelmi
Group Executive Producer :
Julian Katz
Executive Producer :
Matt Nowak
Senior Producer :
Whitney Collins
Senior Account Director :
Ladd Martin
Account Director :
Patrice Reiley
Account Manager :
Kylie Halperin
Assistant Account Executive :
Dominique Brown
Planning Director :
Brit Browning
Production Company :
Smith & Jones Films
Director :
Ulf Johansson
Edit House :
Rock Paper Scissors
Editor :
Paul Watts
Visual Effects :
MPC
Audio Mixing :
Sound Lounge
Sound Design :
Mit Out Sound

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Project Type