Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) was introducing TEN™, 10-calorie versions of five soda brands. Competing in a crowded field of sodas as well as the larger beverage category, DPS was relying entirely on PR to build awareness for the TEN™ launch in early 2013.

The PR team cracked open a TEN™ and started brainstorming. And we were impressed. The sodas tasted as good as the full calorie versions. But they couldn’t impress anyone until people tried them. When we noticed how often we used the word “impressed,” it led us to McKayla Maroney. Already famous as one of the “Fab Five” U.S. Olympic gymnasts, McKayla became world famous when the camera caught her looking unimpressed by the Silver Medal she’d won in London. Her expression became an overnight pop culture meme: “McKayla Is Not Impressed.” She even taught President Obama the look.

McKayla’s expression embodied the mindset of our target consumer toward soft drinks: not easily impressed. As an Olympic athlete currently in training, her endorsement would be a coup. We knew she’d turned down other brands, so when she agreed to endorse 7UP TEN®, we made it big news: “7UP TEN® Impresses McKayla Maroney.”

We secured exclusive rights to use McKayla and introduce her impressed face, launching TEN™ in winning form.

We created “TEN™ Station” in New York’s Penn Station to premiere McKayla’s “impressed face” to the world. Strategic media outreach drove massive broadcast and online discussion. McKayla and 7UP TEN® appeared everywhere – from CNN, to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, to the Wall Street Journal.

The Face that Launched a Thousand Sips

First, we had to impress McKayla Maroney, knowing the Olympic celebrity had turned down numerous endorsements. She was genuinely impressed by 7UP TEN®, and best of all, her gymnastics coach agreed it was okay for her diet and training regimen.

We made the endorsement exclusive. Only a TEN™ product could earn McKayla Maroney’s “impressed” face.

Then we made “McKayla Maroney is Finally Impressed!” big news, creating TEN™ Station in Penn Station where McKayla revealed her impressed face to the world. Through strategic media outreach we drove broadcast and online discussion through multiple national hits in the New York Times Media Decoder blog, CNN, Fox and Friends, VH1 Morning Buzz, and Huffington Post Live. The campaign pulled off a coup landing three separate stories in the Wall Street Journal TV, blog and print editions, and culminated with an entertaining integration on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with subsequent online videos showcasing just how impressed McKayla is with 7UP TEN®.

Nailed the Launch. Stuck the Landing.

The entirely PR-driven campaign scored major impressions. Strategic and targeted media outreach before and around the March, 2013, launch generated 680 placements, articles and broadcasts showcasing McKayla Maroney’s new “impressed face” and 7UP TEN®, netting more than 327 million impressions, with 64% percent in Tier 1 media outlets. Using the power of social media, where the meme began, with postings and online videos, including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, we reached 12,392,868 viewers.

Most importantly, PR successfully introduced TEN™ into the market. According to March 2013 analyst reports, DPS received 88% participation rate from a national convenience store chain and sales of 7UP, Sunkist, Canada Dry and A&W were up 70% year over year, largely due to the TEN™ platform. According to one supermarket, 90% of sales were coming from incremental customers – those who weren’t previously purchasing soda. Precisely the people we were aiming for.