VICE partners with Schweppes to launch new soft drink range ALT + campaign via TBWA Melbourne
Youth media company VICE has partnered with Schweppes Australia’s new soft drink range, ALT, on a four-part co-branded video series and large-scale, roving festival activation. The brand partnership was developed in collaboration with Schweppes Australia’s media agency, Carat and creative agency TBWA Melbourne.
The Self Portraits video series sees VICE help ALT position itself as a brand that doesn’t just talk about self expression, but enables it. Championing strong, notable characters–paired with like-minded creatives–their fame, personality and lifestyle are captured through a series of creative and imaginative portraits.
Now online, Russell (AKA Backpack Kid), the 15 year old from Atlanta, USA, internet-famed for his deadpan, stiff-armed dance move that he calls ‘The Russell’. A star born out of Katy Perry’s Saturday Night Live appearance (his very own “Twitter moment”), Backpack Kid is one of the internet’s favourite icons and the perfect example of how the
world falls in love with someone who’s just doing them.
Also live now, a colourful profile on Shanae ‘Sheezy’ Collins, an Australian female skateboarder who hopes to follow an X Games appearance with a shot at the 2020 Olympics. In a skate community dominated by young men, Sheezy has made it to the top, not by doing what everyone else was doing, but by being unashamedly herself.
Episodes to follow feature Australian Paralympic sprinter, painter and fashion designer, Gabriel Cole and Melbourne’s Otis Armada, creators of cultish bootleg dining experiences which honour engaging service, artistic collaboration and creative eating.
Having left its mark on Sugar Mountain Festival–and social media–the experiential CTRL + ALT activation leaves Melbourne to feature at Laneway Brisbane (10 Feb). Once more, attendees will be encouraged to interact with the space, to ‘Keep Doing You’ through an immersive, personalised experience that maximises self-expression/reflection through a giant waterbed, interactive digital ceiling, and GIF photo booth. Watch the Melbourne footage here.
Says Lisa Saunders, general manager marketing, Schweppes Australia: “ALT is a brand that wants to ‘do things differently’, so a partnership with a like-minded collaborator such as VICE was a fantastic opportunity to help us champion the spirit of the individual, and amplify our “Keep Doing You” campaign. We wanted a partner to talk to the millennial audience on our behalf with credibility, at scale, and in an engaging way. VICE was able to do this and more, with access to a range of unique and diverse young talent captured with expertise and pushed out across multiple platforms, exceeding reach targets. ALT is part of a broader business strategy to expand our low sugar offering, and the sentiment to date has been incredibly positive.”
Says Michael Slonim, managing director, VICE Australia: “What an excellent project to kick things off for our 15th year in Australia. By partnering up with some of our favourite music festivals and young characters that fascinate us, we get to do more of what we love–making engaging, multi-screen video content and truly adding something to the cultural conversation. Thanks to our forward-thinking partners at Schweppes Australia and Carat who let us keep doing us.”
ALT’s highly visible OTL campaign heroes the ‘Keep Doing You’ messaging, championing self expression and empowerment.
This isn’t the first time VICE and Schweppes have worked together on co-branded content, with the lauded Knapsack Bartender series that ran for two seasons, visiting Sierra Leone, Romania, Bolivia and Japan and grossed over 6 million views since release.