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Poppi's one-time focus on fiber has turned to "vibes" with Super Bowl spot that enlisted Charli XCX and Rachel Sennott to posit gut pop as a way to break thru mundane college classroom malaise. Meanwhile, Liquid Death used first-qtr placement to enlist its medical advisor Dr Darshan Shah in ad that contrasted its new energy drink line with conventional entries that apparently explode heads with their more than moderate caffeine levels. And Liquid IV presented nearly a minute's worth of footage of lonely toilets to lament an underhydrated America. As reported last month, PepsiCo recruited Coca-Cola's polar bears to rub in rival's face the outcome of revived taste challenge (BBI, Jan 29). Poppi's Vibes Thing Poppi first. Leadership team started teasing effort late last week as Pepsi-acquired co announced new titles for execs from CEO Chris Hall on down. Chris now purportedly is chief vibes officer while Bridget McCarthy Lasda now is head of vibes sales and Farial Moss is dir of vibes & comms. You get the picture. The 30-second ad seems to represent a further step away from functional roots of brand, now proffered as "a brand built for entertainment, conversation and internet culture, both on and off the screen," per announcement that went out immediately after kickoff. It "isn&#39;t just a soda: it&#39;s a lifestyle, a mood and the ultimate vibe setter," as witnessed by Charli's slipping into her "Poppi place." Creative was from agency Mirimar with Aidan Zamiri enlisted to direct. (His debut film, "The Moment," starred Charli XCX.) This third time on Bowl "was a very intentional return for us," per svp marketing Kristina MacIntosh. "We showed up with the same confidence, tone and cultural point of view that defines how Poppi exists online, because that&#39;s core to who we are." Recall that viral internet presence of cofounder Allison Ellsworth proved crucial to breakout of brand, which has since gone on to enlist A-list celeb endorsers like Charli XCX.By co's chronology, first Bowl ad 2 years ago positioned brand's arrival as "a modern soda," followed a year ago with ad that showed consumers how and when to drink it. "This year, the brand cements itself as a culture-first force within the soda category," introducing new line "Make it a Poppi," as voiced by Charli at end of ad. Of course, "modern soda" represents an implicit critique of core CSD brands offered by co's new owner.Meanwhile, on LinkedIn in days before game, co posted: "No more KPIs (key performance indicators). No more boring business objectives, forecasts, or bar charts. Poppi is now a vibes based organization . . . because tbh, we&#39;re just here for the vibes. If you need us, we will be busy creating the vibes, sipping the vibes and (most importantly) dancing to Charli." We presume they ran new approach by Pepsi.Liquid Death Ad Made Heads Explode, but Not the Viewers' This Time From some of commentary, it's not clear that every reviewer realized that Shah is the real-life doc and longevity expert who helped Liquid Death formulate its "better for you" energy line, with "unextreme caffeine" level of 100 mg augmented by focus-enhancing L-theanine and magnesium, with stevia swapped in for more conventional sucralose. (It's not entirely clear to us why they needed an MD to come up with familiar formula like that.) The ad is right in synch with launch messaging that promises that the new line "feels like a coffee, not like an electric chair." The PSA-style spot opens with shot of headless people sitting on couch before cutting to lab-coated Dr Shah ("board certified surgeon") asking, "Has your head ever exploded from an extreme energy drink?" As footage shows headless people walking into glass walls and stepping in front of moving vehicles, he goes on to tout his formula of 100 mg caffeine, essential vitamins and zero sugar. NY Times critic Mike Hale deemed effort "reasonably funny," which likely would disappoint Liquid Death marketers who've come to expect nothing less than "hilarious" and "insane" for their efforts. More takes on ad below.Liquid IV's Lonely Army of Toilet Bowls Unilever-owned Liquid IV fast-hydration brand controversially employed unappetizing motif of lonely toilet seats and urinals to tune of Phil Collins' "Take a look at me now" to express the loneliness of being ignored by people who're not adequately hydrated. Viewers are 53 seconds into minute-long ad before it cuts to the chase: "Take a look at your pee," title commands. "Yellow? Hydrate with Liquid IV," it informs, as powder pouch is dispensed into glass. "The image of a row of overflowing urinals may not encourage you to drink more water, but it will probably stick in your mind," as Times' Hale balanced the puts and takes.How the Ratings Had It: Pepsi Did Well but Liquid Death, Liquid IV Drew Mixed Reviews PepsiCo's polar bear vehicle "The Choice" ranked #3 in USA Today's popular Ad Meter survey. PEP's Lay's ranked #2 as it romanced the potatoes in its chips at time co is cleaning up its snack portfolio, behind returning leader Budweiser with a Clydesdale seen nursing an American Bald Eagle into adulthood. Beyond views, the Pepsi spot was ranked highly by ad trades. AdAge gave it 4 stars, writing "the spot has a lighthearted confident vibe that dials up the mischievous fun that challenger brands can have." Pepsi's Polar Bear ad was ranked #3 by Adweek.USA Today and ad trades had different takes on Liquid IV's urinals romp. It was ranked #27 by Ad Meter and got only 2 stars from AdAge but was tops in Adweek. The Collins' tune "may have been your go-to karaoke song before, but you'll never hear it the same way again after Liquid IV's ad," assessed Adweek. "Turns out a chorus of toilets is incredibly memorable, but the informative twist at the end was educational, too." Ad Age felt the ad takes too long to convey the benefits of Liquid IV (50+ seconds, remember!) and concluded: "It feels like a bit of an opportunity gone down the drain." It occurs to us that one irony of ad's leisurely unfolding was that some Bowl viewers may have gotten up to take a bathroom break before it finally gets to the point.Liquid Death participated for second straight year, this time behind the new energy line. It ranked #27 in USA Today Ad meter, up from #36 for its ad last year. As Ad Age described, the effort may have represented a collision between the brand's online native habitat and that of national TV buys. Tho "it's nice to see Liquid Death just being itself" on the big game, it rendered just a 2.5 stars rating, noting "the tone is pretty hardcore, bordering on WTF, and might be better suited for the internet." Recall, tho, that squandering those millions on a homespun-looking ad is an occasional strategy for breaking thru the clutter, as Oatly sought to do a few years back with creative showing its CEO's off-tune singing in an oat field.

Super Bowl Brought Spotlight on Poppi's 'Vibes,' Liquid Death Energy Attacking Overly Caffeinated Rivals, Liquid IV Demanding 'Look at Your Pee'

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