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Burger King taps mobile video for nostalgic Surge comeback

Burger King is appealing to fans of all things '90s by pairing mobile video with the return of a popular beverage and pop-culture celebrity Pauly Shore. 

Nostalgia has become a staple for marketers in connecting with consumers, as well as an important part of consumer culture in general. Burger King is tapping into this method of drumming up attention with a campaign and videos featuring comedian Pauly Shore to celebrate the release of its frozen version of the bygone soft drink Surge. 

"Social media is about connecting your message to the right audience," said Amir Zonozi, chief strategy officer at Zoomph. "There are a couple ways of doing this but the two that make the biggest impact is the right person, and the right moment. 

"Influencer marketing is about finding the right person to carry the message to your audience, and Burger King using Pauley Shore is a direct hit to introduce Surge as a frozen beverage for the millennial generation that connects with the 90s," he said. "This is a great follow up to Jimmy Fallon?s Saved By The Bell reunion. 

"Audiences will recognize both, identify within themselves and want to be a part of this campaign. The right person and the right moment, once identified is a game changer for brands."

Surge?s mobile surge

The new product was announced through comedic videos on social media, playing on the popularity of mobile and social video along with the well-known face of Mr. Shore to coincide with the theme of 90s nostalgia. The YouTube videos features the comedic actor as one of his well-known characters running around a Burger King location with wild antics and giving out free Surge drinks. 

Surge has generated a cult-like following and Burger King is leveraging social media for its return as there is already a solid conversation surrounding the drink through various channels. There have been numerous petitions on Facebook to resurrect the drink, and sharing the video on social platforms gives it the potential to go viral. 


The Twitter pages features a variety of content related to the campaign such as a GIF of Mr. Shore making snow angels reading ?Surge polar vortex forecasted for next week, brace your tastebud-dddies.?

Mobile video
Similarly, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division scared up awareness for its Cheetos brand through a partnership with mobile delivery application Caviar and a social media video series that promotes its Halloween products by surprising unsuspecting delivery customers (see more). 

Also, a campaign by Procter & Gamble?s Pampers diaper brand leveraged a life-affirming YouTube video lullaby to reach millennial mothers who prefer to buy from brands that demonstrate socially positive and transparent values (see more). 

"Video is the ultimate battleground on social media right now, native video uploads have been strategically integrated into EdgeRank on Facebook to boost engagement, SnapChat?s promotion of live stories, Twitter?s integration into native video, the message should be clear to stand out on social right now, use video," Mr. Zonozi said. "Key things we are seeing is these videos need to be short, not heavily produced, and entertaining to capture audiences? attention."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer