Dr Pepper has released a new installment in its newest college football campaign, that is set in a fictional town called “Fansville” and parodies TV show dramas.
The commercial, titled “Encroachment,” features the town’s sheriff being asked to intervene when a new family moves to the neighborhood. The football fan knocking at his door to inform him that his new neighbors are referees says he doesn’t need the new neighbors’ whistles to keep him up at night. The residents’ complaints are also targeting the cameras the new neighbors are installing, but the sheriff, noticing the six-packs of Dr Pepper unloaded from the moving truck, states he’s “out” and suggests that they should give the new neighbors a chance. He then tries to get closer, but is kept at a distance by one of the family’s kids.
The film ends with the voiceover introducing Dr. Pepper as the official drink of Fansville.
Fansville, described as “a town where every day is Saturday and everyone is a fan, literally,” has been the setting for many other stories. One of them has as protagonists a cheerleader and a mascot of rival schools, that express their love for each other, knowing that their shared love of Dr Pepper can supersede the rivalry, and another one features a promising young tailgater who’s worried about whether he will still be able to grill and explains that his other hand is “the Dr. Pepper hand”.
Since 2014, the soda brand, a sponsor of the College Football Playoff, has relied on the concessions character Larry Culpepper, created by ad agency Deutsch in 2014 and played by actor Jim Connor, to carry its college football message. Earlier this year, though, in May, he was sidelined. After the news spread, a Dr Pepper spokeswoman praised the character’s work and informed that the brand’s football-related advertising will be taken in a new creative direction.