Even without meaning to, we see endless marketing every single day. Whether it’s while scrolling through TikTok videos, on a billboard during our commute to work, or on TV when we try to watch Heated Rivalry. Most of the time, we do everything in our power to avoid watching these advertisements. We scroll past, skip after five seconds, or leave the room when a commercial plays on our screens. We would rather pay for monthly subscriptions than listen to an ad, so it’s safe to say we don’t appreciate the ones we do see. We just want them to end.
That being said, on a rare occasion, a commercial or ad will break past our instinctive resistance and genuinely get us to appreciate the advertised product, or at least appreciate the marketing team behind it. Recently, this happened when a Dr Pepper commercial went viral for using one specific audio from TikTok, which led the team to receive much praise for the marketing stunt.
The TikTok creator known as Romeosshow is known for their comedic videos on the app. One of which features them creating a catchy jingle for the brand Dr Pepper, which quickly went viral. Backed by enthusiastic viewers eager to see the jingle brought to life, the video caught the attention of the official Dr PepperTikTok account. After leaving an encouraging comment on the original post, the Dr Pepper team reached out to Romeo with an offer to make that dream a reality.
A few weeks later, during the College Football National Championship commercial break, a Dr Pepper commercial was broadcast to millions, playing none other than Romeo’s silly jingle. For everyone who has supported the influencer’s journey, this was an incredibly fun surprise. The commercial was well-done, incorporating the jingle with appealing visuals, and even included a written credit to Romeo. All of a sudden, people seemed truly excited to watch a commercial on TV. Even the comments on the commercial’s YouTube video were filled with support and enthusiasm: “The ad that I wouldn't skip,” said one. “Finally a company doing the right thing,” commented another.
This viral commercial proved something advertisers keep forgetting: the less serious the ad, the better it works. What started as a goofy, low-stakes internet joke didn’t lose its charm when it went mainstream; it gained it. Even viewers who had no idea where the jingle came from were still enjoying it. Why? Because it is catchy, self-aware, and refreshingly unpolished.
Commercials these days don’t excite the audience as they used to, mostly because we are too aware that someone is trying to sell us something. Audiences today are smarter than brands give them credit for. They can spot forced authenticity, overproduced sentimentality, and hollow “emotional storytelling” from a mile away. Lest we forget the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad… Even product placements in films and TV have gotten so painfully obvious that they often take people out of the immersive experience.
This led many advertisers to attempt to break the fourth wall and create self-deprecating or over-ridiculed commercials. Instead of creating fake scenarios that glorify the product through sentimentality, the advertisers became self-aware. These kinds of commercials allow the audience to get a glimpse behind the scenes, and even address the viewers as if they are all in on it. Basically, it’s every single commercial Ryan Reynolds has ever done. While this genre of commercials has seen its fair share of success, audiences are still wary of its capitalistic tactics. Even without the forced sentimentality, most ads have become boring and predictable, and the audience is simply not interested.
Another approach used to get people to engagedis by unintentionally making them mad. During the holiday season, an AI-generated Coca-Cola commercial went viral, but not because the audience liked it. With the tagline “Real Magic,” the company faced a lot of criticism for releasing a commercial made completely by AI instead of using human animators. Nothing about that ad was unique or required special skills to excuse the use of AI, which made the lack of creativity even more prominent. Instead of leaning into human imagination, the brand outsourced feeling to an algorithm, which resulted in a soulless ad that became an example of what not to do. The takeaway was simple: people don’t want ads that feel engineered, they want ones that feel human.
That’s why this Dr Pepper ad worked, because it didn’t talk down to viewers or try to manufacture meaning. It wasn’t just that this commercial created a funny viral moment, it was also just refreshing all around. It met people at eye level, incorporated human creativity, embraced a little silliness, and trusted that humor doesn’t cheapen a brand. It also proved that Dr Pepper is open to giving the audience a chance to participate in the advertisement by highlighting a small creator’s talent, which gained them the respect of many.
It was later reported that the TikTok creator received $2 million for the deal, but it is unclear if that is really the case. Either way, the viral moment inspired others to go for their own shot at making a popular jingle on TikTok. Plus, this has now encouraged many other brands to use original human creativity for their marketing content. Thanks to this collaborative endeavour, Romeo and Dr Pepper have reminded us all of just how fun commercials can be if they don’t take themselves too seriously. Sometimes that simply means letting a silly TikTok jingle do the talking, or in this case, the singing.
