The internet was recently graced by a peculiar AI-generated Mountain Dew ad envisioning a fantastical “Planet Mountain Dew” where dreams apparently come true. The ad begins harmlessly enough, portraying a verdant, vibrant world brimming with potential. However, around the 30 second mark, the narrator cheekily reveals the inhabitants don‘t utilize Mountain Dew for their plumbing as one might expect, but instead rely on plastic bottles for their toileting needs. Beyond the initial absurdity, the ad touches on some pressing issues worth a deeper look.
The Rise of Creative AI
While the ad‘s bizarre twist toward the end may have elicited some chuckles, it primarily highlights AI‘s growing role in generative media and advertising. Services like DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT can now create remarkably cogent poems, images, videos, and even ads with little-to-no human input.
The AI behind this Mountain Dew ad likely analyzed branding guidelines, target demographics, and past ads to construct its vision of "Planet Mountain Dew" aimed at the beverage‘s typical extreme sports-loving, thrill-seeking audience. And in many respects, the ad succeeds – the surreal, verdant world shown aligns well with Mountain Dew‘s unique, adventurous image. Even the choice of outer space reinforces the brand‘s long-standing association with high-octane action sports.
One of Mountain Dew‘s recent ads embracing the extreme sports aesthetic
This ability for AI to rapidly generate novel, targeted media poses fascinating opportunities, but also risks regarding authenticity, ethics, and misinformation. Had the more unsavory references been cut, one might easily mistake this wholly AI-created ad for the real thing approved directly by PepsiCo‘s creative team.
And this Mountain Dew ad is far from the first case of AI entering the advertising domain. Brands like Lexus and Balenciaga have already road-tested campaigns powered by generative algorithms with mixed success. As the technology advances, near-human creativity allows for higher concept ads at a fraction of typical video production cost and time.
Hype cycle of emerging technologies as AI marches steadily toward the "Plateau of Productivity"
Some forecast models predict over 75% of companies could adopt AI for content production and advertising by 2025. So while still early days, this Mountain Dew ad offers just a small glimpse of our impending AI-augmented reality.
Environmental Critique or Clash with Brand Identity?
Yet perhaps more interesting than the AI itself was the message it chose to convey about consumer culture‘s dark underbelly. The seemingly innocent, lush Planet Mountain Dew takes a dystopian turn when plastic water bottles are revealed as makeshift toilets peppered across the land. One can interpret this as commentary on the vast amount of plastic waste generated in the name of corporate profits and consumer convenience.
Major beverage providers like PepsiCo, producer of Mountain Dew, have long relied on cheap plastic bottles and multi-pack can wraps to package their products, despite the negative environmental impacts. The United States produces over 50 billion plastic water bottles per year, with just 23% recycled. And the market is only expected to grow another 70% in the next decade.
Plastic waste is expected to triple by 2060
So while clearly hyperbolic in its imagery, the AI ad‘s message raises valid concerns about the externalized impacts of rampant plastic bottle consumption. PepsiCo‘s 2021 sustainability report touts rather incremental efforts like using 2-10% recycled plastic content in certain regions. Critics argue companies transfer responsibility for proper plastic disposal onto consumers rather than investing in novel, eco-friendly materials and delivery mechanisms.
Land and marine wildlife invariably suffer the long-term consequences. Over 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans annually. So the comical bottles strewn about Planet Mountain Dew reflect a rather sobering real-world trend.
One wonders if the AI analyzed Mountain Dew‘s brand impact and chose this controversial angle intentionally to spark reflection. Either way, it led to some poignant societal critiques.
The Humorous Absurdity of Advertising
Beyond just social commentary, the ad also inhabits the rich tradition of humorous, surreal ads pushing rationality to its limits in the name of buzz and viral attention. Physical comedy and ridiculous imagery aimed at younger male audiences are Mountain Dew advertising staples.
The infamous "PuppyMonkeyBaby" Super Bowl ad
Past examples like the cringe-worthy "PuppyMonkeyBaby" Super Bowl spot leave little to the imagination. Absurdism clearly runs rampant in the brand‘s marketing department. So an AI trained on such ads could logically conclude the best route to engagement is through ever-escalating, zany concepts.
And in the social media age, ads spreading widely through outrage and mockery can prove just as valuable as earnest praise in terms of brand impressions. Look no further than alienating campaigns like Kendall Jenner‘s famously ill-conceived Pepsi ad or Peloton‘s widely-derided holiday ad. While terrible advertising in the traditional sense, their viral infamy cemented the brands firmly in pop culture for better or worse.
AI-generated ads pushing societal boundaries could well become a new advertising strategy unto themselves. What better impersonal scapegoat to blame for an offensive ad than an algorithm? However, technology still in its infancy cannot fully replace human oversight and judgment.
Psychology of Mountain Dew‘s Branding
But would such a controversial approach truly fit Mountain Dew‘s specific brand image? As both a passionate gamer and consumer well-versed in energy drink marketing over the years, I have some unique insights into the beverage‘s successfully cultivated identity.
Mountain Dew has always branded itself as a drink fueling extreme adventure and high-octane action – as the product‘s bright neon green hue proudly suggests. Its inventive naming after hillbilly slang for moonshine instantly tapped into a spirit of countercultural mischief. That outsider outlaw ethos permeates the brand today.
Bold colored cans at eye level on convenience store shelves target youthful demographics seeking both refreshment and identity. The brand‘s core fanbase skews distinctly young, male, and thrill-seeking – drawn subconsciously toward the drink‘s risky machismo.
Critics have accused past ads of promoting harmful attitudes by glorifying reckless stunts and adrenaline-fueled exploits while linking Mountain Dew consumption to success. So marketers clearly understand the audience‘s determined psychology.
The brand skews toward a younger, risk-taking male demographic
Yet while absurdity and shock value are pillars of the brand, the AI may have misfired by wading into murkier territory regarding resource sustainability. Mountain Dew drinkers crave euphoric surges of energy, excitement, and empowerment – not depressing ruminations on plastic bottles piling up in landfills.
And unlike artier brands playing with ideas of social consciousness like Absolut Vodka‘s progressive ad campaigns, Mountain Dew tends closer to the mainstream middle. Despite its countercultural posturing, most customers likely care little about abstract issues distracting from high-octane fun. An edgier message tackling scary environmental problems could potentially alienate more fans than it attracts.
Companies spend billions of dollars carefully molding brand identities and consumer perceptions around their products. So this experimental ad from the AI tinkers somewhat recklessly with that established psychology.
Mountain Dew sells high-energy escapist thrills
While the ad‘s absurdist twist proves attention-grabbing, it risks diluting the carefree escapist fantasy Mountain Dew placements so clearly aim to convey. Consumers seek out the iconic neon soda for thrills and adrenaline, not uncomfortable reflections on societal problems. The AI clearly recognized the brand‘s affinity for irreverence and boundary-pushing humor. But it didn‘t fully account for the precise consumer psychology and motivations making Mountain Dew so popular regardless of critics.
Missed Opportunities and Potential Alternatives
Stepping into the shoes of a creative advertising professional, I started pondering directions perhaps better suited to the signature neon soda. Considering Mountain Dew‘s target demographic, brand heritage, and typical messaging, I came up with the following off-the-cuff AI ad concepts that embrace absurdity while conveying the intended market positioning:
- Thrill-seeking teenagers discover a portal to a lawless alien world powered by a Mountain Dew plasma, allowing them to recreate epic stunt videos through otherworldly terrain
- An underground band of sentient extreme sports anthropomorphized animals who chug Mountain Dew before attempting outrageous feats
- A fast-paced, neon-drenched tour through the fantastical workings of a Mountain Dew factory creating the coveted electric green soda
Rather than focusing on shock value like the AI‘s planet concept, these embrace playful surrealism and youth appeal aligned with the energy drink‘s identity. Tonally they convey impossible worlds limited only by imagination and courage fueled by Mountain Dew‘s neon nectar. While certainly hyperactive and off-the-wall, such concepts better speak to the brand‘s Jason Bourne-meets-Jackass ethos. They reimagine reality via high-concept lenses rather than uncomfortably holding up mirrors to real societal problems.
Does an energy drink ad need to reference economic inequality or plastic pollution? That likely overestimates the average consumer‘s desire for ethical consumption – the priority remains tasting great and being less filling, not saving the planet. While the real world of course suffers from very real environmental consequences, marketers understand that for most brands, selling distracting dreams and escapism remains far more lucrative.
The brand promises unhinged fun and endless action
And for beverage corporations beholden to shareholders, business motives will continue superseding activist ones absent external pressure. But the winds may slowly be starting to change…
The Verdict: Technology Outpacing Responsibility
In conclusion, while an admirable effort by the ambitious AI system to analyze branding guidelines and envision a hypothetical world, this ad misses the mark for accurately capturing Mountain Dew‘s one-of-a-kind identity. Unlike brands actively cultivating controversy for attention, Mountain Dew has always sold itself as a positive enabler of fun and defiant action sports abandon.
While it checks the boxes of absurdity and surreal imagery, the ad‘s off-putting environmental message critiquing plastic consumption subverts instead of supports this core identity. One cannot deny the ad‘s merits as a conversation starter on society‘s pervasive waste created by corporate convenience.
But companies like PepsiCo still hold the deeper responsibility for acknowledging and mitigating these harms caused by their packaging reliance on single-use plastics. Mountain Dew ads are likely not the appropriate venue for tackling such weighty topics without alienating fans simply seeking a jolt of neon-hued excitement. Still, this strange escapade shows that public conversations are evolving, and brands who fail to adapt do so at their own peril.
More broadly, this shows AI – much like earlier fire, electricity, and smartphones – still has considerable room for improvement in fully analyzing brands and products for accurate, targeted media outputs. Technology development continues far outpacing thoughtful regulation around its uses. And the pressure mounts for viral content at any societal cost.
Hype outpaces responsibility as realize tech‘s unintended consequences
But we now live in that future we long imagined – where human creativity intermingles with algorithms and information networks. So we shoulder the collective responsibility for envisioning how these technologies elevate rather than undermine hard-won social progress around environmental awareness and corporate accountability.
Brands betting innovation farms on Generative AI cannot naively claim surprise when their algorithms absorb and reflect back systemic biases rooted in the training data. Instead, they must proactively build ethics into what remains, for now, an amoral canvas elaborating upon, but not questioning, the corpus it receives.
This Mountain Dew ad only hints at what may soon be possible – and the pressing need to consciously guide this technological change we have unleashed. For while AI may not inherently reflect moral truths back at humanity, it does hold up a telling mirror to our past priorities via the information patterns we feed it. Its receptive nature demands we take greater care curating knowledge toward ethical ends.
So while the technology behind this peculiar ad may not yet fully grasp Mountain Dew‘s carefree escapist essence, it has illuminated all our responsibilities on this shared, fragile Planet Earth worth fighting to preserve and protect.