PepsiCo’s Pure Leaf tea subverts classic fairy tales with Amy Poehler

Dive Brief:

• Pure Leaf, the iced tea brand owned by PepsiCo and Unilever’s Lipton, announced the launch of an integrated marketing campaign titled “No Is Beautiful.” Created with agency DDB, the effort features actress Amy Poehler and encourages people — particularly women — to say “no” to things that don’t matter to open up time for those that do.
• Pure Leaf worked with Poehler’s “Parks and Recreation” co-star Rashida Jones to direct a digital content series called “Once Upon a No.” In the videos, Poehler reworks classic bedtime tales to fit with the “No Is Beautiful” messaging. Rapunzel, for example, rejects requests to let down her hair and demands getting a staircase or elevator installed instead.
• Consumers can participate by submitting their own spins on fairy tales on a microsite for a chance to win an illustrated version of their stories. An interactive experience in Times Square on National Tell a Fairy Tale Day on Feb. 26 will display some on-site submissions via a Jumbotron billboard.

Dive Insight:

Pure Leaf is looking to deconstruct can-doer attitudes with a campaign that leverages a mix of TV, digital content and experiential elements. The move aims to position the PepsiCo marketer as more purpose-led, being inspired by internal research that shows women, in particular, often don’t feel comfortable saying “no” to things, especially for professional matters.

The ads and digital content series starring Poehler lean into a feminist slant and the “Saturday Night Live” alum’s dry sense of humor to make saying “no” look both empowering and fun.

In the 60-second hero TV spot, Poehler narrates a series of events that a group of women say “yes” to in order to get ahead, such as getting up early to exercise or staying late at the office. The ad then rejects these habits to champion sleeping in or leaving work early to spend time with family.

Other ambassadors include author Eve Rodsky, best known for her book “Fair Play” that offers tips on how couples can more equitably split domestic duties.

The overall positioning of Pure Leaf’s campaign, which highlights the benefits of women taking a more carefree approach, could read as a subversion of empowerment-minded marketing that centers on a more aggressive “girl boss” attitude for women in the workplace.

Pure Leaf rolls out the extensive marketing push as it plans to introduce a new cold brew iced tea label in early March, along with new unsweetened hibiscus mango and raspberry chamomile offerings for its herbal iced teas line.