Pepsi’s Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a teal-colored, lime-flavored carbonated beverage, is MLB’s new official soft drink. PepsiCo VP Marketing/Flavored Sparkling Beverages Michael Smith said his company’s new MLB sponsorship dovetails well with Baja Blast’s Gen Z/multicultural/Hispanic-led core consumer.
“[MLB] was the right property, rising at the right time, with key summer seasonality,” Smith said. “Major League Baseball has a long history with Hispanic consumers and within its player profiles.”
Pepsi’s multiyear sponsorship, which took more than a year to complete, ends a six-year stretch in which MLB had no soda sponsor. This is MLB’s first time with a non-cola beverage as its lead carbonated soft drink. For Mountain Dew, the choice of MLB is intriguing, since the brand has generally been associated with edgier properties, like action sports stars and its eponymous Dew Tour. Longtime PepsiCo sports/experiential agency Genesco Sports Enterprises helped negotiate the deal for Pepsi and is handling activation.
For more details read Thursday’s SBJ Marketing newsletter.
