Extreme sports are catching on fast in Romania and the number of its enthusiasts grows exponentially country-wide. And it is a tactical communication territory for Sprite.

Many brands tap into extreme and push the riders to go harder. The logic is: the harder, the better. At Sprite, we say it straightforward: that’s the spice of the game, yes, but hey, the riders are human. The harder = the riskier = more accidents.Can we create a responsibility campaign based on this truth? Can we continue building a distinct, instantly recognisable and ownable Sprite presence in extreme sports?

The real challenge was to talk about responsible riding in a non-preachy way, while staying true to Sprite brand values and attitude: irreverent, edgy, no-bullshit.We cracked it by creating and promoting a 0750SPRITE Help-line: The hotline was 24/7 and offered nothing but “psychological” counselling in case you had an extreme sports accident.

The message was delivered with the usual Sprite attitude: “Sprite supports you, but cannot look after you. Ride responsibly”. By calling, you were guided through an interactive menu with pre-recorded messages offering absurd consolation advice, suited for the most frequent kinds of injuries and traumas.

Just two months after the launch, the new communication platform brought Sprite a 31.56% sales increase while the overall market decreased.Up to now, two of key image indicators (“talks to me in an honest way” & “is non-conformist/ original”) increased as as result of the campaign by 20%.The calls have grown from an average of 2000 calls per month, when the campaign was launched, to almost 254.000 in January-April 2008. Consider it from the perspective that the calls were not even free!

On top, the hotline has spurred quite a buzz and was heavily blogged.