Cheerwine is the last soft drink brand in America still owned by its founding family after four generations. The bubbly, wild cherry-flavored soft drink has a cult following and a distribution deal with Pepsi Beverages to be available in all 50 states by their 100th anniversary in 2017.

It’s known as the “Nectar of the South” by loyal fans, including indie rockers, The Avett Brothers, who performed a charity concert in October called Legendary Giveback: Tour of Duty, to benefit three family aid organizations: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Operation Homefront and the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, as part of an overall campaign called “Legend” created by NY-based agency Woods Witt Dealy & Sons. 

The marketing objective of “Legend” is to leverage an existing fan base and grow brand awareness from the regional to the national level. Fans unable to attend the sold-out concert in person were invited to go online and pledge their time to volunteer with any charity or community organization through Cheerwine's website or Facebook page in return for an access code to view a livestream of the concert. 

Nearly 28,000 entered a related sweepstakes offering a grand prize of a VIP trip to the concert and a meet-and-greet with the Avett Brothers, as well as other prizes including pairs of tickets, Giveback T-shirts, posters and Cheerwine coupons. In addition, the town that pledged the most hours (Bristol, Tennessee) was awarded Cheerwine merchandise and cash to host live Legendary Giveback viewing parties, and more than 2,000 people pledged to give back over 30,000 hours to their local community.Continue reading...

Gap has unveiled its global marketing campaign for its fall/winter collection, featuring musicians and dancers you may not have heard much about – until now.

The campaign brings its clothing to life as they wear Gap's signature pieces while performing, with the theme of "Icons Redefined" in a nod to the retailer's black and white icons campaigns shot by Annie Leibovitz featuring bigger names. This new collection continues its (summer) commitment to bright colors with a slightly more muted palette and the tagline, "Show Your Colors." (Or rolling it all up, “The icons of tomorrow Shine at GAP this fall.”)

The retailer tapped up and coming musicians — the Avett Brothers, Karmin, Lia Ices, Kaki King, Nicki Bluhm (above) — and dancers Lil’ Buck, whose freestyle "jookin" is described as "urban ballet" by some and "gangster walking by others, plus classical dancer Yuan Yuan Tan of the San Francisco Ballet. (Check out the TV commercials below.) The collection can now be viewed on its Facebook page, with commercials starting to hit TV screens.Continue reading...