Pepsi Uses "Dog" to Market Mug Rootbeer

From Mediapost's Out To Launch:

Pepsi-Cola North America is introducing an animated character named Dog for its Mug Rootbeer brand. The canine will serve as the focus of ads and promotions in stores and on the Internet, as well as appear on cans, bottles and cartons. The bulldog was developed in collaboration with Character, a consulting company in Portland, Ore., that specializes in creating and reviving brand characters. The story of Dog is being told on a website developed by the Dallas office of Tribal DDB, the interactive division of the DDB Worldwide division of the Omnicom Group.
Visitors to the site are greeted by a bold headline, "The Adventures of Dog," and are invited to "Team up with Dog as he travels across America." In the initial episode, Dog is introduced as the companion of Tex, a "cowboy truck driver for Mug root beer." Dog and Tex are on a trip on the proverbial "dark and stormy night" when Tex swerves to avoid a deer and veers off the road. After the accident, Tex is taken away by ambulance. The next morning, Dog wakes up alone and heads off in search of his lost master. "What will happen to Dog next?" the final screen reads, in classic Hollywood serial-film fashion. "Check back soon to find out!"
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