Pure Leaf taps ‘Ghostbusters’ actors to myth-bust its zero-sugar sweet tea

Dive Brief:

Pure Leaf Iced Tea launched a new "Unbelievably Sweet Files" campaign in support of its new zero-sugar, zero-calorie sweet tea product, per a press release.
Actors Emily Alyn Lind and Celeste O'Connor, who appear in "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” are paranormal detectives seeking the truth about Pure Leaf Zero Sugar Sweet Tea in a national campaign spot. The brand is soliciting consumers' unbelievable stories, with winners receiving a prize pack.
The brand will also head to New Orleans, Boston and Chicago on a tasting tour. The product and campaign from the Pepsi Lipton Partnership comes as PepsiCo and rival Coca-Cola launch and advertise zero-sugar beverage options.

Dive Insight:

The launch of Pure Leaf Zero Sugar Sweet Tea is accompanied by a campaign that pokes fun at uncovering unbelievable truths, adding a zero-sugar, zero-calorie sweet tea to a list that includes extraterrestrial sightings, ghost stories and other "inexplicable phenomena."

A brief spot stars Lind ("The Babysitter," "Gossip Girl") and O'Connor ("Ghostbuster: Afterlife," "Madame Web"), two actors who appear in the just-released film "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." The pair don leather jackets in a smoky detective's office and ask consumers if they "want to believe," nodding both to the "Ghostbusters" films and "The X-Files” franchise.

Consumers are encouraged to share "out-of-this-world accounts" at the brand's website through April 26 for a chance to win the new product and a collection of holographic stickers. The contest is a way for the brand to collect first-party data about consumers that is increasingly valuable amid the ongoing deprecation of third-party cookies.

Pure Leaf is marketed by the Pepsi Lipton Partnership, a collaboration between PepsiCo and Unilever. The launch and campaign come as several PepsiCo and Coca-Cola brands seek to engage consumers interested in better-for-you alternatives to traditional sodas and beverages. PepsiCo's Bubly this week rolled out a line of zero-sugar Burst products, while Coca-Cola has updated its marketing around Coke Zero Sugar and tapped Jon Hamm to appear in ads for its Minute Maid Zero Sugar brand.

The absence of a zero-sugar alternative is a “top barrier” that prevent people from buying a tea brand, Julie Raheja-Perera, general manager of North America for the Pepsi Lipton Partnership, told Marketing Dive sister publication Food Dive in an interview.

“This was a key one that we’ve been looking at for some time. We are looking to attract new people into our brand that otherwise may have [an interest in] zero sugar or wanting something with zero calories,” Raheja-Perera said. “Now, we have that proposition which we’ve never had.”