For five months over the summer of 2011, the population of the UK was invited to join the Pepperhood – a college-style fraternity of friends and fans of Dr Pepper, all living by the principle of ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
Ten challenges – one released each fortnight – determined who won some fantastic prizes and, ultimately, who would become the first ever UK Pepperhood President.
I was approached by Zone to be executive producer, selling in the concept to Dr Pepper, structuring the game, coming up with ideas for the challenges, and setting and maintaining the right tone.
The challenges are a mixture of Flash games, adventure stories, quizzes, digital scavenger hunts and calls for UGC, giving the players the chance to see their photos and videos on MTV.
And in October, one lucky girl had her Presidential inauguration broadcast on MTV too.
(While we didn’t get inaugurated for anything, we were nominated for two Revolution Awards and won twice at the Marketing Society Awards.)
David Varela 