Energy drink Reize is feeling the wrath of SBS presenter Lee Lin Chin after using her in one of its social videos.
The clip shows Lin Chin being "interviewed" by Reize’s brand mascot, Deadpan Guy, who never breaks a smile apart from when he’s guzzling down on the energy drink.
Given she's not one to mince her words, having previously threatened to “cut up a Stefanovic”, as well as having called the ABC’s Tony Jones a “fence-sitting nimrod” and told Coopers Brewery its beer tasted like poo, Lin Chin soon took to Twitter to voice her disapproval.
In true tongue-in-cheek Lee Chin style she responded saying: “Stop trying to use my image to sell energy drinks. My audience is above that, they only drink beer. Hire a new head of marketing.”
Stop trying to use my image to sell energy drinks. My audience is above that, they only drink beer. Hire a new head of marketing. https://t.co/nLTBQTw04A
— Lee Lin Chin (@LeeLinChin) November 5, 2016
Reize founder Marty Spargo tells AdNews the campaign was designed to amplify the presence of its Deadpan Guy by interacting with social media influencers in a fun way.
"To promote Reize and amplify the reach of Deadpan Guy we wanted to leverage the reach of influential social media personalities, so we came up with a way to draw them into a debate with the brand through good natured banter. We've been huge fans of Lee Lin Chin for a long time and thought she would be open to some good natured social media back and forth,” he says.
"We've methodically planned the execution of this campaign for well over a year now. You can only get so far on your own, if you really want to hit the ball out of the park you need to leverage influencers and attract attention from media outlets. So far the success of the campaign has exceeded all expectations."
Reize, the first powdered energy drink, was founded in 2014 by childhood surfing buddies Spargo and Steve Macdonald.
It’s the world’s first energy drink subscription service (think the ‘Dollar Shave Club’ of energy drinks) and sells direct to the consumer in a space dominated by global brands.
So far the brand has had success in creating viral video campaigns, with one of its Deadpan Guy clips receiving nearly 250,000 views and more than 100 shares.
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