Mountain Dew is the third largest carbonated soft drink brand in America, however, in 2008, Dew and its competitors experienced steep sales declines. Dew’s irreverent position had become less relevant as its edgy, male consumer of the ‘90s had aged. Energy drinks were stealing market share. X-Games and mainstream skateboarding sponsorships didn’t connect with the new breed of “underground” street skaters who disdained logo-heavy promotions. “Deathbowl to Downtown” renewed Dew’s relevance among this elusive young male demographic.

Our unbranded, full-length documentary re-established Dew as a marketing innovator and demonstrated its “Fuel the Core” positioning in an authentic way.

Directed by Coan (Buddy) Nichols and Rick Charnowski, “Deathbowl to Downtown” documented skateboarding’s evolution from the parks of the ‘70s and ‘80s to the streets of the ‘90s. The sports action film, which took three years to make, reconnected Dew with skater subculture in an uncluttered environment with no product integration or intrusion by the brand.