Pepsi’s Mountain Dew brand has launched an online game, “DEWmocracy,” that lets players team up and design the flavor, color, name and marketing graphics for a new entry in its product line.
Set in an Orwellian virtual world “governed by corporate owners [where] profit and greed rule and creative freedom is strictly forbidden”—according to the game intro at http://www.dewmocracy.com—players’ avatars travel through seven chambers completing tasks, earning points, and choosing their drink’s attributes. Different levels of the game will open for play on a schedule; the first is available now, and the second will open on Nov. 14.
After completing the third level, players are grouped into three teams lined up behind the three most popular flavor combinations. In ensuing rounds, teams vote on the marketing elements for their developmental Dews: the logo, label and tag line. In the last one, teams vote to determine the candidate they propose for acceptance. The vote then will open to consumers to elect “The People’s Dew.”
And Mountain Dew vows that the product people choose will hit store shelves sometime next year, and in a form recognizably similar to the product and package design arrived at by the winning team.
No prizes will be awarded to the winners apart from the honor that “You alone will be able to brag to friends that the Mountain Dew quenching their thirst was first created along your epic journey,” the Web site said.
Actor and director Forest Whitaker, who narrates the story’s live-action sequences, also took part in designing the elements of the DEWmocracy experience, including the story, the live-action film, the animated characters and the overall game design, the company said.
“Our goal is to entertain, engage and empower our consumers through DEWmocracy,” Mountain Dew marketing vice president Frank Cooper said in the statement. “Dew consumers are some of the most passionate around, and we know they’ll be anxious to create a new product.”
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