Upshot Most Powerful Mobile Music Venue tours America

Adland's told you that Mophonics artist Four Fifty One tapped by 86theonions for Upshot tour before, so here's an update on how it went. You can even see Mophonics rock Austin in this clip below. (click it, you know you want to)

86 the Onions created everything for Upshot in this campaign, from the logo and packaging, to website revamping to the strategy and campaign. Lets start with the logo, god do I ever hate them for this. Why?

I was just working on something kinda similar (arrows with an almost nod to a sergeants stripes, rather than just arrows) and now I hafta scrap the whole thing 'cuz Upshot's is miles better. To this 86 the Onions creative Director Chad Rea responds with a laugh "Just change the color or something. Ha." You'd like that wouldn't you, then you can all Badland me. Damn! (Much more inside folks, clickie)

Eyeball stickers for fans handed out around the van - can be used to sticker stuff, like demonstrated above.

Now doesn't Barry Manilow and that parking meter look a lot more perky now? :) Thank You Upshot!

The van, decked out like small concert venue had smoke machines, lights and speakers built into the sides - it can clearly make some noise.

So I asked Chad Rea how the tour went:
Chad Rea: Crowd reaction was great. Most people looked like deer trapped in headlights, which is what we wanted--a spectacle. The band was LOUD! and could be heard from several blocks away. The van was pretty much wired for a small night club. You can't imagine how loud it was inside the van. Talk to the band in 10 years and I bet they can't hear you. Spectators didn't know quite what to expect when the van exploded with sound, but they seemed to be highly entertained, if not mesmerized. Smoke was pouring out, lights were beaming from the van. It was definatley something to remember and tell your friends about. There were equal numbers of people watching from a safe distance as there were people who stood right in front for the whole set. We even started seeing a few familiar faces at different locations--new groupies who followed the van, I guess. Or caffeine junkies.

DB: How does the mocha one taste? Energy mocha sounds like my cup of tea! err.....

Chad Rea Mocha is my favorite. I put it in milk. Fruit, however, I think sells the best.

The association between 86 the onions and UPSHOT's parent company, Drinks That Work, Inc. (DTW), dates back several years-- when DTW's legendary beverage formulator Brian Lovejoy was first contacted by 86 the onions' Founder/Creative Director Chad Rea to offer his help rebranding UPSHOT (formerly Gizo) with a new name, logo, and packaging design. Explains DTW's Lovejoy, "Chad had sent us a raw onion along with a list of reasons why onions were bad. As soon as we received it, we knew 86 the onions were the right guys to help us translate our corporate vision into reality and effectively distinguish our product from its competitors." He added, "their contributions have been invaluable, and I often refer to 86 the onions as my 'external marketing department.'"
Now poised to make a serious run at energy drink sector leaders Red Bull and Monster, UPSHOT has tapped 86 the onions again to help generate "buzz-worthy" marketing and product sampling platforms according to their proprietary creative and unconventional formulas. Honing in on the creative notion of Smallest & Most Powerful (UPSHOT is a 2.5-oz. energy shot containing a proprietary blend of energy-producing plant extracts including kola nut, guarana, green tea-- 2 1/2 times stronger than canned energy sodas) 86 the onions specifically selected the definitive collection of Smallest, Most Powerful Things, which includes a new UPSHOT website redesigned from the ground up, and the launch of the impromptu and irreverent Smallest, Most Powerful Mobile Music Venue.

The tour went all over America and began at the
University of Texas, Austin (November 3rd, 4th and 5th), the UPSHOT Smallest, Most Powerful Mobile Music Venue also appeared at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (November 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (November 15th and 16th) and NYU (November 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st) - because nobody loves caffiene and loud music as much as college kids. Right?

There were also tour tees, naturally.

fourfiftyoneband did the loud honors of headlining the tour. Their myspace.com/fourfiftyone

Credits- Client: Drinks That Work
Agency: 86 the onions
CD: Chad Rea
CWs: Chad Rea, Steve Porcaro
ADs: Jean Chuang, Dave Foster. Jung-Shih Wang, Clay Weishaar, Rebekah Burch, Kevin Raich,
Peter Vattantham