The Challenge
7UP used to be the king of lemon-lime soda. Now it’s a distant second to Sprite. 7UP wants to revitalize its brand and recapture its former glory. In the midst of this fight between 7UP and Sprite, the larger category of soda has been shrinking. Many are leaving soda over health concerns. But young people still love sugary drinks, so they simply replace their soda consumption with other sweet beverages. As a brand strategy, 7UP should distance itself from the soda category and reclassify itself as a fizzy lemon-lime drink. Along these lines, 7UP should adopt the old 7UP formula, using cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, to reach “all-natural” status and reinforce a distinction from other sodas. Just as 7UP once set itself apart as the Uncola, it can now set itself apart by being the Unsoda. These changes would put 7UP in a position where it sits between soda and other sugary drinks. On the one hand, 7UP is sweet and carbonated. On the other hand, it is naturally flavored and uncaffeinated. This makes it difficult to classify. This actually works in 7UP’s favor because…
The Insight
When kids head to college, many look to reinvent themselves and develop more complex identities.
The Idea
Tap into 7UP’s existing image as a brand that advises people to “be yourself” to create a new image around being proud to have a complex, difficult to define, identity. In other words: 7UP is the Unsoda that defies category.
Sample Execution: TV Commercial
Copywriting: Alok Mahadevia – Art Direction: Margarita Cardenas
