To market Dr. Pepper's Diet Cherry Chocolate flavor, they launched a viral campaign featuring the already young baritone YouTube sensation, Tay Zonday, 25 in a remake of the song that made him famous, "Chocolate Rain." The parody used in the ads is called "Cherry Chocolate Rain" and guest stars rapper, Mista Johnson.
The original Chocolate Rain video was sung and produced by the Ph. D. Candidate, whose real name is actually Adam Nyerere Bahner, and hit YouTube on April 22, 2007. Since then, it's had over 11 million views. View numbers will probably hit another spike thanks to the new Dr. Pepper ad.
Check it out below!
Viral Dr. Pepper Ad Spoofs Chocolate Rain
Cherry Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday
Trend Themes
1. Viral Parodies - The success of Dr. Pepper's Cherry Chocolate Rain viral campaign indicates the potential for other brands to parodize pre-existing YouTube sensations to market their products.
2. Nostalgic Marketing - The use of viral campaigns that target millennials with nostalgic references to past popular memes and songs presents a way for brands to tap into nostalgia and build brand affinity.
3. User-generated Content - Dr. Pepper's viral campaign success highlights the potential for other brands to incorporate user-generated content in their marketing strategy for an authentic and engaging campaign.
Industry Implications
1. Beverage - The use of viral marketing campaigns presents opportunities for beverage companies to capitalize on social media to introduce new products and build brand awareness.
2. Entertainment - The success of viral campaigns that utilize pre-existing YouTube sensations presents opportunities for the entertainment industry to capitalize on nostalgia and incorporate popular memes and songs in their content and marketing.
3. Advertising - The success of Dr. Pepper's Cherry Chocolate Rain viral campaign presents opportunities for advertising agencies to develop innovative marketing strategies that incorporate popular memes and songs to build brand awareness for their clients.