Dive Brief:

• Sprite is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a star-studded summer campaign placed across TV, OTT, online video, cinema and social, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
• In a nod to the milestone, the brand unveiled themed packaging and a limited-edition flavor, Sprite Lymonade Legacy. Rappers Nas, Rakim, Latto and GloRilla star in a new spot and consumers have a chance to win content and merchandise by scanning an on-pack QR code.
• Sprite is also a sponsor of Drake’s “It’s All A Blur” tour. The effort is the latest by the Coca-Cola brand designed to highlight hip-hop and follows similar efforts by brands celebrating the 50-year milestone.

Dive Insight:

Sprite is showing up in a big way for hip-hop’s 50th year, strengthening its decades-long ties with the industry. In 1986, the brand cast rapper Kurtis Blow for its “Now More Than Ever” spot, becoming one of the first mainstream brands to feature hip-hop in a national advertisement, per release details. Since, the brand has collaborated with other well-known artists like LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest.

"Our resume speaks for itself," said A.P. Chaney, creative director for Sprite North America, in a statement. "Sprite took a chance on hip-hop before it was cool, and has always been of the culture, not only for the culture.”

To mark the occasion, the brand updated its original Sprite packaging with a new design inspired by boomboxes, mixers and studio equipment. Similar packaging appears on its limited-time Lymonade Legacy offering — the brand’s take on strawberry lemonade — a flavor chosen following consumer requests on social media.

Additionally, Sprite brought together Nas, Rakim, Latto and GloRilla for a minute-long spot, “Icon’s Delight,” produced to a remixed version of The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” The spot will also run in 6-second, 15-second and 30-second segments spanning social media, connected and linear TV, online video and cinema.

Throughout the summer, consumers can scan QR codes located on the re-envisioned Sprite packaging to access digital “drop shops” with hundreds of giveaways, including exclusive content featuring Latto and Rakim and merchandise including autographed Nas hats, GloRilla tour tees, a Latto gold mic and Rakim directorial slates from the “Icon’s Delight” shoot.

Sprite will additionally serve as lead beverage sponsor for Drake’s upcoming tour, which kicks off June 17. The brand will use the opportunity to dole out experiential giveaways, including lifetime passes to hip-hop music festival Rolling Loud and meet-and-greets with Drake. Sprite has partnered with the rapper for over a decade, starting with the "Spark" multinational campaign in 2012, which was his first worldwide deal.

Other marketers have similarly unveiled efforts promoting hip-hop’s milestone. In March, Rémy Martin created the Mixtape Street Art Museum, which used QR codes on street murals to share the stories of well-known DJs. The same month, Amazon Music launched its “50 & Forever” program to honor the genre, kicking off the celebration with a short-film inspired by Queen Latifah’s iconic song “U.N.I.T.Y.”