Rather than giving superstar car racer Dale Earnhardt, Jr. a commercial tribute for his retirement at the end of his illustrious career, we introduced a new Mtn Dew spokesperson to take over for Earnhardt behind the wheel — Dewey Ryder.

Earnhardt is one of the most beloved athletes of our time. When true sports legends retire, media coverage of the culmination of their careers is abuzz 24/7. To say farewell to Dale Jr. in a way that felt authentic to the brand, we created Dewey Ryder, a hyperbolic character played by actor Danny McBride, who “takes over” for Dale Jr. as Mtn Dew’s new driver and spokesperson. He believes his duty extends beyond the racetrack and into every area of a star athlete’s world — especially media coverage. In the weeks leading up to his Dale Jr.’s retirement, we sent Dewey Ryder everywhere, including Dale Jr.’s farewell interview on ESPN.

We partnered with ESPN and their renowned anchor/reporter Kenny Mayne to bring Dewey Ryder out of “ad land” and into the real sports world. We implemented this with an in-show appearance by Dewey Ryder alongside Dale Jr. and Kenny on ESPN’s flagship news show.

During a Dale Jr. retirement feature on ESPN with Mayne, the interview between the two men is sabotaged by Dale Jr.’s “replacement” — a highly unqualified character named Dewey Ryder (McBride).

The interview segment aired on ESPN’s SportsCenter in the month of Dale Jr.’s retirement from car racing, November 2017.

This placement and integration into a popular sports program helped multiply scale of the execution — being shared by sports fans, Mtn Dew fans, Dale Jr., Kenny Mayne, and McBride fans. Even in recent months, the segment has been alluded to again in real-life coverage by sports anchors on ESPN.

Dewey Ryder’s appearance on Kenny Mayne’s ESPN bit helped raise awareness for Dew’s new driver, stoked affinity among Mtn Dew’s loyal fans, and reminded people of what they love most about Mtn Dew. The feature contributed to the campaign’s 451M+ earned media impressions.

Most importantly, it helped the business. Prior to the campaign, our share trend was -0.6pts. After the campaign, our trend improved by +0.5pts.

The segment continues to have life beyond its original airing. In recent months, the segment has been alluded to again in real-life coverage by sports anchors on ESPN.