Diet Dr Pepper parent company Cadbury Schweppes brought a special preview of its 20-city “New Look…Same You!” tour to Manhattan with a makeover event at Time Warner Center that treated unsuspecting shoppers to mini makeovers, free goodies like T-shirts and lip balm, and, of course, soda.
On the second floor of Time Warner Center, Diet Dr Pepper displays were prominently placed in the lobby, and samples were poured into plastic champagne flutes and given out to shoppers. David Evangelista from Wickedly Perfect and other stylists were on hand to give 20-minute makeovers. For the less adventurous, virtual computer makeovers were available as well.
The special event was planned a few weeks ago because Evangelista was available, and the timing coincided with Valentine’s Day. “A makeover is an indulgent experience, so the timeliness with Valentine’s Day was perfect,” said Cadbury Schweppes’ Cristina Alfaro. “And this event is a way to get added exposure [for the tour].”
While the event’s official message—that drinking Diet Dr Pepper is as indulgent as getting a makeover—was conveyed through the makeover and freebies, its occurrence during Fashion Week hinted another message—that of, ahem, dieting. To promote the connection between diet soda, makeovers, and fashion, models from Posh Ability posed as paparazzi photographers for the newly made-over shoppers, who were able to walk a short red carpet and experience a few seconds of pretend fame.
The makeover tour stopped earlier this month in Portland, Oregon; Syracuse, New York; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and ends in April. But Cadbury Schweppes execs felt New York was an appropriate place to hype up the mobile marketing campaign, which focuses on helping people look and feel better. The tour will make its official Manhattan stops in March. (The regular makeover tour stops feature only one stylist, and recipients of the live makeovers are chosen through a drawing. This special event featured Evangelista and two additional stylists, who gave as many live makeovers as time allowed.)
“This campaign is very lifestyle-focused,” said Mark Szuchman of Circle One Marketing, which helped create and produce the tour and event. “We tried to bring it to life and offer consumers the ability to change their look.”
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
On the second floor of Time Warner Center, Diet Dr Pepper displays were prominently placed in the lobby, and samples were poured into plastic champagne flutes and given out to shoppers. David Evangelista from Wickedly Perfect and other stylists were on hand to give 20-minute makeovers. For the less adventurous, virtual computer makeovers were available as well.
The special event was planned a few weeks ago because Evangelista was available, and the timing coincided with Valentine’s Day. “A makeover is an indulgent experience, so the timeliness with Valentine’s Day was perfect,” said Cadbury Schweppes’ Cristina Alfaro. “And this event is a way to get added exposure [for the tour].”
While the event’s official message—that drinking Diet Dr Pepper is as indulgent as getting a makeover—was conveyed through the makeover and freebies, its occurrence during Fashion Week hinted another message—that of, ahem, dieting. To promote the connection between diet soda, makeovers, and fashion, models from Posh Ability posed as paparazzi photographers for the newly made-over shoppers, who were able to walk a short red carpet and experience a few seconds of pretend fame.
The makeover tour stopped earlier this month in Portland, Oregon; Syracuse, New York; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and ends in April. But Cadbury Schweppes execs felt New York was an appropriate place to hype up the mobile marketing campaign, which focuses on helping people look and feel better. The tour will make its official Manhattan stops in March. (The regular makeover tour stops feature only one stylist, and recipients of the live makeovers are chosen through a drawing. This special event featured Evangelista and two additional stylists, who gave as many live makeovers as time allowed.)
“This campaign is very lifestyle-focused,” said Mark Szuchman of Circle One Marketing, which helped create and produce the tour and event. “We tried to bring it to life and offer consumers the ability to change their look.”
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Diet Dr Pepper parent company Cadbury Schweppes brought a special preview of its 20-city "New Look...Same You!" tour to Manhattan with a makeover event at Time Warner Center.
Newly made-over shoppers could walk a short red carpet to experience a few seconds of pretend fame.
Diet Dr Pepper was served out of plastic champagne glasses—a hint at the luxury message the event tried to convey.
For those less adventurous shoppers, virtual computer makeovers were also available.
