The Campaign

We devised to follow Arjun as he scaled the third highest peak in the world, Kangchenjunga and back. This would be his second attempt, after having failed the first time. The climb can be deadly, and he could potentially not return. The first part of the series covered Arjun’s life, attempting to understand the entire process of preparation, with background from from sports scientist, and his family and friends.

The Brief

$218,000 USD Production 120K USD, Activation 98K USD

Creative Execution

The journey of Arjun Vajpai was captured on a minimal budget as part of an 11-piece episodic series (average length of 2-6 minutes) with a total creative collateral count of about a 100+ digital-first assets. Through strategic partnerships, we were able to showcase Kangchenjunga Calling series across the digital universe and generate earned media. Strategic Content Distribution Through strategic partnerships, we were able to showcase Kangchenjunga Calling series across the digital universe and generate earned media. Web: VICE.com Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube VICE Partner Network: India Times, MensXP, Hungama Mobile Video Partner: ShareIT OTT Players: Voot, Hungama Play both available on Amazon Fire Stick as well Digital Carriers: BSNL and MTNL Mainstream media (local and APAC): Economic Times, Campaign India, Content Asia, Mumbrella, Ad Gully, Impact Magazine, Business Standard

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Built on set brand measurement metrics of ‘Love’ ‘TrendSetting’ ‘Inspiring’ with gains of +8 +6 +7 points respectively. 70% of the target audience said this campaign inspired them to push their boundaries & take risks. Mountain Dew India YouTube channel: #1 for MD globally, 40M views for the 11-part series over 2 months. Increased Target Audience Reach (584M) Resulting in Total 3.2BN Impressions. VICE India’s Partner network (ShareIT, Voot, Hungama) helped Mountain Dew navigate routes unexplored by the conventional paid media reach, resulting in over 90M video views, 20% from earned media. Targeted content distribution has led to the brand generating a media valuation of more than 4X and counting. The final piece of content, long-form documentary on Arjun Vajpai’s story is in line to be released in a theatrical format in the coming months. Press: Economic Times, Campaign India, Content Asia, Mumbrella, Ad Gully, Impact Magazine, Business Standard

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We aimed not to just make some ads for mountain dew, but an experience and journey that people could follow along with, could root for, could understand on a deeper level - and help him reach the peak. We wanted to inspire.

Authentic Approach: Real life stories are more impactful than staged drama or Bollywood scripts. We decided to go beyond a celebrity studded approach by creating an epic and real storyline or experience that helps the brand Mountain Dew become synonymous with adventure in India. This had to be done in an authentic manner for the attention-deficit viewer so that he/she is impressed and knows that when it comes to an adventurous lifestyle, Mountain Dew is the got-to-brand in the online space. Putting powerful insight into action: The insight that ‘current millennials at large are a lot more risk-taking (than their ancestors) was put to test. We used this insight to reinforce Mountain Dew’s leadership in the market by increasing target audience reach and engagement to ensure brand love. Truly embody its own brand philosophy of risk-taking/ “Risk Utha Naam Bana” by exploring new ways to connect with the target audience.