Mountain Dew's Hot New Track Might Make You Sweat (Profusely)

PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew lays down some excessively sweaty beats in a silly 30-second spot from TBWAChiatDay NY and Biscuit Filmworks director Andreas Nilsson.

Set in a garage on a scorching hot day, our hirsute hero seemingly springs a leak. Perspiration flies from his unkempt (mountain) do, soaking his porn stache, as a power ballad erupts from inside a nearby fridge:

“Sweeaaaty Boy! Why don’t you come and drink me?
My Sweeaaaty Boy! Don’t you know I’m cold and chilly?”

Yanking open the door, he discovers a 20-ounce bottle of Mountain Dew at the mic…

…belting out “Sweaty Boy” like some plastic-necked, highly caffeinated lead singer from an ’80s glam band.

Here’s the full-length version of the song:

Kind of an early Bon Jovi sound going on there, though garage guy more closely resembles scruffy ’70s rocker Frank Zappa. (“Sweaty Boy” even sounds like a Zappa title, the kind of tune the manic maestro would create to poke fun at pop culture back in the day. And Frank hung out in the garage.)

In a second spot that channels an Old Spice vibe, a pair of sweaty cowpokes find refreshment on horseback, serenaded by mellow C&W fretwork:

So, horses have cooling compartments in their rumps. That explains the long faces.

TBWACD NY executive creative director Amy Ferguson says the team eschewed “dripping condensation and beautiful chilly bottles sitting in ice to break the rules” of the category and push creative limits.

“The resulting body of work acknowledges and even nods to these tried-and-true ‘Taste and Refresh’ conventions, but reinvents them in a wildly imaginative way,” she says.

As for the campaign’s inspiration, “the original idea was born from a funny and slightly random but insightful truth—there’s often an old forgotten but very cold and delicious soda in the back of a fridge in your garage,” Ferguson says. “The creative team had the idea to give the forgotten garage-fridge MTN Dew a singing voice by writing a sort of pleading and emotional song.”

To develop the track, the TBWACD team worked with Walker Music.

“Our exploration hovered around genres that prioritized emotion and yearning—some more tender, some more passionate and bold, and some that were just plain weird and off-putting,” recalls agency senior integrated producer Rick Segal. “We knew the hook was going to be the most important element regardless of style and instrumentation.”

“Where we landed with the ‘Sweaty Boy’ hook gave us that tenderness we needed for the verses, but also with the potential of power for the final chorus—two notes that can be whispered, trembled or belted,” Segal says.

Now, everybody grab your air guitars and sweat:

“Why’d you have to leave me, alone in this fridge?
The heat the passion it’ll just take one swig

Sweaty Boy, oh mister Sweaty Boy!
Boy is really sweaty! Oh you’re just so sweaty!
Sweaty Boy, Oh mister Sweaty Boy!
So cold and chilly!

Your perspiration, you know it ain’t no joke (Ain’t no jokeeee!)
My condensation is what you need the most!

Sweaty Boy, oh mister Sweaty Boy!
Can’t you see you need me! Can’t you see… can’t you see you need me!
Sweaty Boy, oh mister Sweaty Boy!
Will your mouth ever meet mine, will that mouth of yours ever meet mine!
Sweaty Boy, oh mister Sweaty Boy!
Can’t you see you need me! Can’t you see you need me?!”

CREDITS

TBWAChiatDay New York
Chris Beresford-Hill: Chief Creative Officer
Julia Neumann: Executive Creative Director
Amy Ferguson: Executive Creative Director
Holden Rasche: Associate Creative Director
Ashley Veltre: Associate Creative Director
Coleman Davis: Senior Art Director
Alli Walker: Associate Copywriter

John Doris: Head of Production
Amanda Revere: Executive Producer
Rick Segal: Senior Integrated Producer
Sean Riojas: Associate Producer
Thalia Tsouros: Director of Integrated Business Affairs
Anne-Camille Charpié: Business Affairs Manager

Bruna Bechelli: Business Leader
Matthew Duerr: Business Director
Allie Lightcap: Business Manager

James Sowden: Chief Strategy Officer
John Gibson: Executive Strategy Director
Michael Obermeyer: Strategy Director
Bodi Karsono: Senior Strategist

Nancy Reyes: President
Rob Schwartz: Chief Executive Officer

Mountain Dew:
Nicole Portwood, VP Marketing: Mtn Dew / Energy / Flavors
Erin Chin, Senior Director Mtn Dew Comms
Katy Holden, Director Mtn Dew Comms

Biscuit Filmworks:
Andreas Nilsson: Director
Shawn Lacy: Partner / Managing Director
Holly Vega: Executive Producer
Lee Groombridge: Producer
Sean Moody: Head of Production
Rachel Glaub: Head of Production
Lasse Frank: Director of Photography
Jon Blud: Production Designer

Cabin Editorial:
Chan Hatcher: Editor
Nick Deliberto: Assistant Editor
Carr Schilling: Managing Partner
Michelle Dorsch: Senior Producer

A52 Color:
Daniel de Vue: Colorist
Thatcher Peterson: Executive Producer
Jenny Bright: Producer

Kevin VFX:
Tim Davies: Executive Creative Director / Partner
Mike Dalzell: Head of CG
Sue Troyan: Sr. Executive Producer / Partner
Jami Schakel: Sr. VFX Producer
Andrew Cowderoy: VFX Producer
Carl Harders: CG
Matt Longwell: CG
Nico Sugleris: CG
Blake Guest: CG
Igor Stefanovic: CG
Kerry Graham: CG
Bryan Repka: CG
Dennys Herman: CG
Robert Murdock: 2D
Steve Gibbons: 2D
Steve Cokonis: 2D
Tim Bird: 2D
Rob Winfield: 2D
Susanne Scharping: 2D
Adam Levine: Design

Walker Music:
Abbey Hendrix: Executive Producer
Dottie Scharr: Senior Producer
Julianne Wilson: Music Supervisor
Christopher Keyes: Engineer

Screaming Penguin:
Rob Fielack: Audio Mix / Sound Design
Zarina Mak: Producer