How influencers helped Mountain Dew expand the scope of a TVC

Over the last decade, the brand philosophy of Mountain Dew has remained rooted in Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai. Yet, a lot has changed with the influencers they involve.

Over the last several years, Mountain Dew has maintained its brand identity of a beverage that's linked to the idea of being courageous and fearless. It motivates youngsters to try harder and never let up in the face of obstacles. The Mountain Dew brand philosophy has stayed the same in all this time, even the way they say it has been constant more or less. However, a lot has changed in regards to the influencers involved.

So far, the brand has leveraged several Fanclub pages to expand the scope of the latest Hrithik Roshan TVC on social media, amplifying the message. Further, they will be executing several campaigns involving influencers to build and keep the TVC's momentum running.

For Mountain Dew, there are three categories of influencers that are a part of the marketing strategy. "With TVC as the anchor, we have Hrithik as the celebrity influencer. We also work with mountaineers, bikers and gaming influencers that are sources of authority. Then there are consumer influencers on TikTok," Naseeb Puri, Director, Mountain Dew & Energy, PepsiCo India tells us.

"In that sense, I don't think celebrities vis-a-vie influencers are two different things. We are now just evolving from being only celebrity influencer to having a variety of influencers — social, sources of authority, and consumer influencers," she adds.

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The new TVC launched by Mountain Dew features brand ambassador Hrithik Rohan and has been shot by Siddharth Anand. They have previously worked together for the movie War. The TVC captures his dilemma and determination as he gets set to perform a dangerous stunt.

Before the release of the TVC, various Hrithik Roshan and Bollywood Fanclub pages had shared pre buzz content around it. Sharing stills from the shoot, they established that something new and big was in the pipeline.

Roshan had also put up a teaser to the TVC on his profile, which was further amplified by the Fanclub pages, adding to the anticipation.

After the release as well, multiple pages got into action to share the TVC, amplifying the message. These pages work as influencers for the campaign, helping the brand reach potential customers who would be interested in what Hrithik Roshan has got to say.

Even though it is a TVC, social media is helping the brand reach relevant niche segments via influencers. The fact that actor-director duo is returning for the TVC after working together on a film also added a layer of narrative into the mix, helping the brand leverage a whole new set of demographics that are already invested in the message because of the movie.

Explaining the timelessness of the concept, Puri tells us, "The Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai line is so embedded into the consumer ethos that it now belongs more to the consumer than the brand itself. That's a very powerful place for a brand to be. It comes only with consistency and holding true to the ethos the brand stands for."

In the next few weeks, Mountain Dew will be using multiple social media touchpoints to promote the TVC-led campaign. TikTok and influencer marketing will be a big part of the marketing strategy at play.