7Up's cool mascot Fido Dido is back!

The once popular mascot has been revived only for a limited period to promote the drink's summer campaign.

Remember the tall, frizzy-haired, cool cartoon with shorts and the large 7UP T-shirt? Of course you remember Fido Dido; he's not an easy guy to forget! Well, Fido Dido, the once popular '90s mascot of PepsiCo's lemon-based soft drink 7Up, is back. But the brand has revived him only for a limited period. Fido Dido will appear on special limited-edition 7Up bottles till the end of June 2018.

7UP's new TVC - Back to Cool

Apart from the cool mascot, the 7Up bottles will have six vintage/ retro designs. The limited-edition packaging is celebrating the spirit and soul of six different decades in history, starting from the 1950s and running through to the 2000s.

7UP packshot

Fido Dido was initially a cartoon character created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose in the year 1985 in New York. In the year 1987, Fido Dido was licensed to PepsiCo. 7UP entered India in the year 1990 and first advertised with Fido Dido in the year 1992. Currently, the brand has come up with a new TVC '#BacktoCool' that has been conceptualised by BBDO India. The TVC will be supported by massive outdoor and digital campaign.

A screenshot of some of the cool 7Up merchandise
Click on the image to enlarge

Elaborating on the reason behind getting back the cool mascot, Gaurav Verma, associate director, flavours marketing, PepsiCo India, tell us - "While talking to consumers, a lot of things that 7Up was remembered for was Fido Dido. One example, I would say, is in Bollywood music remixes that have been happening in a big way. The music of the 70s, 80s and 90s are coming back and being relaunched and doing well; in the same way, we have got back the cool mascot, slogans and merchandising that happened during the 1950s to the 1990s."

Printed on the bottles, are the slogans from the 1950s 'SURE IS SWELL', while the 'FAR OUT FLAVOR' slogan captures the essence of the 1960s. The 1970s slogan 'GET DOWN, 7UP' and 'CLEARLY THE UNCOLA' takes centre stage on the bottle label inspired by the 1980s. The 1990s bottle sees the 'King of Cool' Fido Dido, take a break while lying in his hammock. Rounding off the pack of six is the slogan from 2000, 'TIMELESS TASTE'.

Gaurav Verma

Josy Paul

He adds, "7Up is a brand which is inherently cool and has retained its personality through the decades. Through the limited edition 7Up vintage packaging, we have once again taken a unique and 'cool' approach to connect with today's generation. In the age of throwbacks and selfies, the 7Up vintage bottles are the perfect representation of our 'Shelf to Media' strategy and we are confident the new, limited edition packaging will truly make 7Up stand out on retail shelves."

Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India, says in a press release, "These are collector's items. Fido is the original daddy of cool! And all the other cool 7Up stuff! It's so awesome that you'll want to own every one of these global vintage packs. And you want others to enjoy them too. How do you do that? With the 7UP Back to Cool promo offer! Now everyone has a chance to go back in time with a bottle of 7Up! Nostalgia is cool!"

The limited-edition design merchandise, including Bluetooth speakers, headphones, t-shirts, hoodies, notebooks, sippers, and funky slap-bands are inspired by the new packaging. Consumers will get a chance to win this merchandise through promo packs on select bottles in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal.