Marketing types call it a ‘personality’ brand. Barq’s Root Beer has introduced itself to Canada by way of an edgy spot from Seattle agency Wieden & Kennedy that’s permeated with the proverbial personality elements designed to engage the target market of teenage males.

Simply titled ‘Johnny,’ our spot opens on a New Orleansish street with a hip-looking, twentysomething hocking his product (Barq’s) from a vending cart adorned with eclectic trinkets.

‘Barq’s the one with bite,’ exclaims the Gen-x vendor, to which a male voice replies, ‘What do you mean Barq’s has bite?’

We cut to a head-on shot of a still-lipped woman, staring silently at the camera from her position in front of the cart. The question is repeated until the camera reveals Johnny, a short, ‘connected’ type, as the source of the repetitious queries.

Johnny samples the product and his one-word reaction, ‘Ouch,’ nicely sums up the root beer’s gassy properties.

Johnny and his lady friend saunter away from the cart giving us a nice look at Johnny’s high heel sh’es, as our young Barq’s rep implores Johnny to ‘tell the world’ about Barq’s.

The spot has the feel and look of a short film that could have been done by Jim Jarmusch or the producers of Smoke and Blue In The Face, with its quick cuts, strange angles and canted camera. The weird characters and their cool dress and language convey an inherent hipness and personality for the product.

A very ‘alternative’ spot, considering that Barq’s is a product from soft drink giant Coca-Cola. Strangely, neither the parent company’s name nor logo are anywhere to be found in the cool underworld of the Barq’s characters.

By Andy Hoffman

Roll credits

Coca-Cola

Barq’s Root Beer ‘Johnny’

Director: Alan White

Production house: Radical Media

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy

Creative directors: Dan Wieden, Susan Hoffman

Art director: Jeff Williams

Copywriter: Ned McNeilage

Agency producer: Jeff Selis