Dr Pepper brought back its Larry Culpepper character for Dr Pepper in August, with a 30-second spot from Deutsch L.A. featuring the concession worker training for the upcoming season and accompanying microsite from The Richards Group. Now, Dr Pepper has released a new effort explaining how the character invented the college football playoffs during one such training session on a hot August day with a video and microsite from The Richards Group.
In the 90-second spot, Culpepper recounts how he was at training camp in late August when he passed out from the heat, perhaps from overdoing it with the inner-thigh wingnuts. “That’s when everything got a little weird,” he explains over hallucinogenic animation somewhat reminiscent of No Mas’ “Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No” documentary short. In a fever dream, he recounts, “the heavens opened up like a wide receiver and the football gods shined their light upon me,” giving him the inspiration for the College Football Playoffs bracket.
The Richard Groups’ accompanying microsite provides further “proof” that Culpepper invented the College Football Playoffs, including allowing visitors to click around on Larry Culpepper’s personal computer from 1995 (dial-up included). You can also check out Larry’s emails and a series of GIFs. The effort is part of season long college football effort from the brand, so we expect to hear more from Larry before the season is through.
“In our second year with the College Football Playoff, we’ve dug deeper into Larry Culpepper,” said Dr Pepper Snapple Group senior vice president of marketing and sponsorships Jaxie Alt. “The virtual home The Richards Group created for Larry’s obsessions grows richer every day as we provide this hands-on perspective for our fans.”