An award-winning summer fling to the x-treme

Challenge

Smoothie King was launching the summer’s biggest thirst trap—an X-Treme Watermelon Smoothie. But without any additional media dollars and a promotional window that was only around for a summer fling, how could they effectively spread the word about their delicious drink?

Insight

Steamy beach reads are having a big moment. In fact, 1 in 4 books sold in America are romance novels, with Summer being their peak sales season.

Solution: Romance novel marketing masterstroke

Introducing A Summer Fling to the X-Treme — the first romance novel penned by a brand and ChatGPT. This 228-page tale of a love triangle between a man, a woman, and the X-Treme Watermelon Smoothie was launched online, allowing fans to instantly download the ebook or order a physical copy via Amazon’s print-on-demand service. Hidden easter eggs throughout the novel led readers to a custom URL for a free product. This long-form ad left everyone thirsty for more, a thirst only the X-Treme Watermelon Smoothie could quench.