Creative Agency: Tribal DDB Dallas
After a brief introductory video in which Cliff explains what the Pitch Black Experiment is all about, visitors to the site can choose to “view” any of six webcams -- one for each room in the house. Unfortunately, they can’t see anything on them, because the house is engulfed in total darkness. However, they can hear Cliff as he stumbles comically from room to room asks them to help him complete a wide array of tasks that will help him make it through his 90 days in darkness.
“Every great movie deserves a sequel. Consumers loved Mountain Dew Pitch Black and they wanted us to bring it back, but with something new,” said Katie Lacey, VP-marketing, carbonated soft drinks, Pepsi-Cola North America. “Sour flavors are big right now with teens and young adults, so we added a sour bite to Mountain Dew Pitch Black II.”
According to Scott Johnson, executive creative director at Tribal DDB Dallas, his team recorded more than 800 audio clips, which are precisely mapped on the “dark” webcams according to place and time of day, so visitors to the site will continue to get a unique experience no matter how many times they check in on the Pitch Black Experiment.
-- Paul Roberts, general manager, Tribal DDB
Copywriting, editing and performances all work together here to create a great video-enhanced experience. The site feels very dynamic as well. Each time it loads, we see our host come into the scene and do something different. The use of the current date and time, as well as the countdown at the bottom of the piece, also gives the site a very dynamic feel. Once you get into the core of the site -- a set of webcam views that are each available through one click -- it gets a bit tricky. I think I'm supposed to be helping this dude find something in the dark, but I don't think I was successful. I did spend a good five minutes trying to figure it out though.
The bottom line is that the site has a solid strategy: distract the audience with humor and intrigue and leave the selling for later. I think the site will create buzz about "The Dew," but more importantly it's interesting in its own right, and I'll keep coming back to see what happens with it, as well as forward it on to friends.
If somebody finds what that guy needs in the dark -- let me know.
-- Sarah Cooper, sr. creative director, IQ Interactive
It's quirky, it's hard to forget: it's another great soft drink minisite! Can soft drink marketers afford not to be edgy? I recently heard in an LA Times podcast (yes, they do that now) that carbonated drink makers have cranked out 545 new brands since 1999. That's an average of two per week. So while the crazy Dew fan and multiple black videos in today's Creative Showcase might seem down right bizarre, they are A) on message and B) just what it takes to cut through the clutter.
I give Tribal DDB points for the shaggy, DIY look. Sometimes it's harder to pull this off than a clean, crisp feel. I also like the intro scene. Not only is a 3-D feel employed (with the foreground slightly out of focus) but they put video-esque animation outside-of-the-box to good use.
--Mario Sgambelluri, managing editor, iMedia Connection