~ The ad film features a lead female protagonist to outline Mountain Dew®'s belief that
courage transcends gender boundaries ~
National, 14 August 2024: One of the leading beverage brands in the country, Mountain Dew® is celebrating India’s Independence Day with a powerful new campaign, ‘Courage Has No Bias'. This campaign underscores the importance of breaking free from gender stereotypes and championing the true spirit of courage.
As the brand that resonates most with Courage, Mountain Dew® is honoring the Bold Spirit that is not defined by a gender through this campaign, thus encouraging Indians to attain freedom from our biases.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a gripping TVC that features a parkour challenge. In the TVC, three hooded athletes approach a tall ledge. Two of them hesitate and back off, however the protagonist, after taking a sip of Mountain Dew, the ‘Courage sip’, decides to take the leap. The athlete successfully lands with a Mountain Dew® bottle, and it is revealed that the athlete is a woman, surprising everyone who assumed otherwise.
In a teaser experiment conducted on the Mountain Dew® Instagram page, only a part of the film was revealed showing only the protagonist's decision to leap and not the outcome and viewers were asked to guess how the story would unfold. Remarkably, over 80% respondents assumed the protagonist was male, highlighting prevalent gender biases.
Mountain Dew® has launched this campaign at a time when we see sporting events being owned by the women athletes, which not just true for India but world over. The campaign has been celebrated by several celebrities and sportspersons echoing the same sentiment as they shared the ad citing their personal experiences and observations around shedding biases.
Commenting on the TVC, Akankshaa Dalal, Category Head, Mountain Dew®, PepsiCo India, said, “Mountain Dew® has consistently celebrated Courage and this Independence Day, we are celebrating the true courage driven by adrenaline and determination, not limited to any gender. We are excited to launch this campaign, Mountain Dew®’s first film with a female lead protagonist. We are optimistic that consumers all over the country will enjoy this film and its spirit.”
The new Mountain Dew® campaign and TVC will be amplified across digital and social media with a 360-degree campaign. Mountain Dew® is available across modern and traditional retail outlets as well as on leading e-commerce platforms.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $91 billion in net revenue in 2023, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.Pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.
For further information contact:
PepsiCo India
Aastha Jindal | Aastha.Jindal@pepsico.com
Edelman India:
Purva Thakur | Purva.thakur@edelman.com | +91 9654919536
Vatsala Srivastava | Vatsala.srivastava@edelman.com | +91 7309808099