Dive Brief:
- Hard Mtn Dew will throw one couple an all-expenses-paid wedding in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the only people who can attend are wedding crashers, per a press release.
- The wedding will feature brand-inspired attire and an open bar serving Hard Mtn Dew. Couples can visit a microsite through Oct. 16 and explain why they should win flights, accommodations and the service itself.
- Consumers can visit an Eventbrite page for details on how to “crash” the wedding. The pop culture-referencing giveaway comes as the average wedding costs nearly $30,000 and follows a previous stunt where a brand fan married a can of Hard Mtn Dew.
Dive Insight:
Hard Mtn Dew continues to try to separate itself from the growing field of hard sodas, hard seltzers and ready-to-drink canned cocktails with experiential marketing that takes Mtn Dew’s outsized brand voice and adds the inhibition-lowering effects of alcohol to the mix.
The marketer’s latest stunt seeks to provide a free wedding for a couple that doesn’t mind saying “I Dew” in front of a crowd full of wedding crashers, with a man and maid of honor chosen on-site at random. Wedding crashing — immortalized by the 2005 hit comedy — affects 1 out of every 14 weddings, according to data from the Wedding Venue Professionals Association shared by the brand.
As costs continue to rise and COVID-19 again begins to affect gathering plans, younger couples have different attitudes on the role, scope and size of weddings than previous generations. These changing attitudes come as younger consumers increasingly reach for alternatives to beer, wine and liquor as well.
“Hard Mtn Dew fans continue to impress us with just how wildly passionate they are,” said Erica Taylor, senior brand director for Hard Mtn Dew, in a statement. “We love to embrace the unconventional!”
Hard Mtn Dew last year ran a stunt around weddings, giving out a trip to Las Vegas for a consumer who “married” a can of its hard soda. Previously, the brand celebrated its one-year anniversary with a “Definitely Over 21” spring break bonanza at a retirement community in Florida.
The product, a collaboration between PepsiCo and Boston Beer Company, is the latest to tie brand love to actual wedding ceremonies. Taco Bell in 2017 kicked off the trend by offering weddings at its flagship Las Vegas Cantina location before taking the effort to the metaverse in 2022. Dunkin’ offered drive-thru weddings for Valentine’s Day in 2021, while Oscar Mayer this year turned its iconic vehicle into a wedding chapel called the Wienermobile of Love.
