ViacomCBS hopes to revive its “MTV Unplugged” series of acoustic concerts, all with the help of a new energy drink that shares part of its name.
PepsiCo‘s new Rockstar Unplugged is a different sort of energy beverage, one the company hopes will create good vibes with ingredients like hemp seed oil, B vitamins, spearmint, and lemon balm — and with less caffeine found in other Rockstar offerings. And to make sure people know about it, Rockstar plans to sponsor three “MTV Unplugged” concerts in 2022, with the first slated to kick off in Los Angeles around the end of the first quarter or start of the second quarter.
The new alliance comes after PepsiCo has placed new emphasis on weaving its way into content, no longer satisfied with just running commercials. In early 2021, Pepsi launched the game show “Cherries Wild” on Fox, a bid to be a bigger part of the content that is the original draw of linear TV. Pepsi and Fox in 2015 wove the company’s flagship soda into one of the plotlines of the drama “Empire.” More of TV’s biggest sponsors are trying to get out of the business of interrupting programs with ads and instead are doubling their efforts to integrate themselves into actual shows — even if they have to create content themselves.
The new Rockstar Unplugged comes in a smaller size than other drinks in the line, says Fabiola Torres, general manager and chief marketing officer of PepsiCo’s energy category, in an interview. “It’s about relaxing and making sure you are enjoying the moment,” she says. It was created in part to give consumers something they’ve craved amid the pandemic: a drink that helps them stop and savor what’s around them. She believes it will “open a new white space in the energy category,” which is often seen as offering functional drinks that help people get going.
When Pepsi determined the new product’s name and niche, Torres reached out to MTV, knowing that the link between the show and the beverage seemed obvious. “Unplugged” last ran as a regular series in 1999, and has since appeared as a series of specials, sometimes on MTV and sometimes in digital form. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, for example, gave an “Unplugged” performance last year in New York.
Executives at ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Group have been mulling ways to revive some of the company’s best known intellectual property, says Jason White, the unit’s chief marketing officer. “We have been looking at the best so we can re-energize it and bring it back for a new consumer,” he says, as well as consider if it might draw subscribers to Paramount Plus, the company’s streaming-video hub. So the call from Rockstar came at an opportune moment.
Rockstar Unplugged is likely to get “equal billing” in MTV’s concerts, says White, but the show will remain focused on the “artist front and center” and the alliance “has to be authentic,” or else viewers won’t be interested.
