7UP refreshes itself; unveils 'UPtimistic' positioning

7UP has undergone a repositioning exercise that revolves around young India's overall optimistic outlook. 'Dil Bole I Feel Up' is the new tagline that the brand will sport, along with a new logo and packaging.

PepsiCo's lemon drink 7UP has come a long way since its launch in India in 1990. Albeit not a very aggressive player when it comes to marketing, the brand has constantly attempted to represent charm and a laid back/optimistic attitude to life. Taking that mandate further is a new positioning for the brand, which will be fully unveiled by a commercial by the end of this month.

Both 7UP and its sub-brand, Nimbooz will sport the line 'Dil Bole I feel Up', symbolising India's optimism (or, as the brand plays around with the word and puts it, 'UPtimism') for life. The campaign starts with the New Year, despite the summer season being a few months away – symbolising optimism and auspiciousness even with the timing of the new positioning.

The brand is endorsed by Bollywood actor Sharman Joshi, who was roped in last year for his 'doesn't have to try too hard' and 'not in your face' kind of attributes, which the brand likes to sport, too.

The Indian repositioning follows a global repositioning exercise, and the Indian campaign has been designed by BBDO India. 7UP will sport a new logo (based on a new international logo) and packaging, although the new logo largely maintains the same colour scheme as the earlier one in red, white, yellow and green. However, the font is different, and aims to be more youthful, progressive, confident and 'uniquely 7UP'.

The launch commercial for the brand's refreshed avatar features Sharman Joshi in a dance-off with a penguin. Shot in Australia, the film has been choreographed by renowned Hollywood choreographer Simon Lind of 'Happy Feet 2' fame.

To further the idea of UPtimism, 7UP has also embarked on a nationwide dance odyssey. With dance being the ultimate expression of an upbeat spirit, 7UP has flagged off a dancing journey with Tamil Nadu's dancing star, Sherif, winner of the dance reality show Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudeva. Calling him 7UP's dancing man, the brand shall see Sherif do a tour of 11 cities (including Chennai, Chandigarh and Delhi) with a giant-size 7UP bottle. The activity will grab the attention of the youth and have them talk about what makes them optimistic about India. The attempt is to bottle India's 'UPtimism'.

Ruchira Jaitly, executive vice-president, marketing, beverages (flavours), PepsiCo India, remarks, "7UP has always been about taking the negative and converting it into something positive. Be it our mascot Fido, or actors Mallika Sherawat, Yana Gupta, cricketer M S Dhoni, and now Bollywood star Sharman Joshi, our commercials were always in the zone of positivity towards life."

Some of the past campaigns along these lines include 'Bheja Fry, toh 7UP try' and last year's 'Gussa Hatao,Chill Machao'. "In smaller towns, the youth is very positive about their ambitions and possibilities are endless for them. It is a rich place for the brand to be in," Jaitly tells afaqs!.

Apart from television commercials and on-ground activations, the campaign will be supported by outdoor, online and radio initiatives. A microsite created by the brand garnered 5.5 lakh hits in two weeks, and carries 'positive news' happening in India, or things to be happy about. Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media will also be leveraged to get the youth to talk of what makes India tick.