• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, April 8, 2016

The latest campaign from Cheerwine takes a humorously “scientific” approach to investigating why drinking the fizzy, cherry-flavored soft drink causes people to smile.

The “Betcha Can’t Not Smile” campaign, from The Padgett Smith Project (Charleston, S.C.), features lab coat-wearing brand spokes guy Bo Stevenson and an assistant conducting “Cheerwine Labs” experiments on subjects including a biker dude and a state Department of Moving Vehicles employee.

In tandem with an introductory video, the brand this week launched “Smile Test A” (below), the first in a series of ads to roll out on YouTube and other video networks over 2016.

Radio ads will air in all of the family-owned brand’s markets, including its Carolinas home turf, all of the East Coast, and the Southeast.

Consumers will be invited to take the challenge and share their “scientific findings” on social media, using #CheerwineLabs, and at tour events across the Southeast. 

The campaign “captures what makes Cheerwine great — the combination of a one-of-a-kind taste and a cheerfulness that’s always been a part of the experience,” said President and CEO Cliff Ritchie.