Britvic’s soft-drink brand Tango produced some of the most celebrated and comical British ads of the 1990s. To reach a new generation, the brand and its agency VCCP London are returning to that humorous heritage with a “dangerously potent” platform.
“Warden” shows an inmate being busted for having a can of Orange Tango—“the most powerful flavor on the street”—disguised as a generic orange soda. Just a taste of the soft drink sends the warden suggestively dancing around the prison, in a scene that shocks prisoners and fellow guards.
The ad builds on the success of last year’s “Bust” ad, which depicted a raid of a lab that produced Tango Dark Berry. One of the police officers danced around after “testing the tang levels.”
Tango has seen a 12.8% increase in sales since that work launched, according to the brand.
“From a strategic point of view, we wanted to reassert Tango’s powerful taste impact to younger audiences as well as those who remember great Tango ads from the past, whose desire to break the rules is still alive and well,” VCCP creative director George Wait told ADWEEK. “This led us to our original campaign idea of positioning Tango as the most powerful and illicit substance on the streets.”
Ben Tonge directed both films, with production by VCCP London’s content creation studio, Girl&Bear.
“Tango has a long legacy of brilliant, comical and edgy campaigns that really push the boundaries wherever possible,” Wait said. “To us, it’s absolutely vital that we honor that heritage.”
Wait was referring to ads like 1992’s “Orange Man,” in which an orange figure slaps a Tango drinker, and 1997’s “St. George,” which saw a corporate spokesperson ranting about the new blackcurrant flavor and challenging a critic to a boxing match on the White Cliffs of Dover. Both were created by now-defunct agency HHCL.
“We set the bar high during the creative process and always say, ‘If anyone else in the category would do it, we shouldn’t.’ It’s the bravery from a brand like Tango that allows it to punch above its weight and really stand out,” Wait added.
VCCP’s in-house social team also created behind-the-scenes-style TikTok videos and Instagram content for the campaign, which will run from May 3 through August across TV, broadcaster video on demand, digital and out-of-home ads.