• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 10, 2016

Ramping up its marketing for the summer, Sonic, America’s Drive-In is running a social campaign featuring videos of actors and influencers with cartoonish characters painted around their mouths.

With #AmazeYourMouth, Sonic and agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners decided to promote the chain’s new Lemonade and Frozen Limeade flavors by having actors do improvisation, with the “mouths” interacting and talking about the drinks the way that people would.

“We secured a group of very talented comedic personalities and actors who played perfectly off the theme,” says Sonic president and CMO Todd Smith. We expect this content to be very shareable, drive our drink business and solidify the brand as among the most innovative in our space.”

Actors whose mouths are featured include the “Two Guys” from Sonic’s TV campaign (Peter Grosz and T.J. Jagodowski), John Lutz of “30 Rock” and Second City stars Chelsea Devantez and Carisa Barreca. Sonic also enlisted Vine and YouTube star Zach King, along with Snapchat and Instagram influencers Arantza Fahnbulleh and 80Fitz. 

#AmazeYourMouth videos will roll out over the summer on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. 

It also kicked off with a collaboration with Giphy and VaynerMedia to offer filters that transformed fans into “Sipsters.” The filters are available on the Giphy Cam mobile app through June 11.

The new campaign is an extension of short Sipsters digital ads that Sonic launched last year, featuring characters such as a yeti, surgeon, a robot and Abraham Lincoln painted on mouths to promote various beverages. 

The successful spots drove a 40% increase in organic traffic on Facebook and generated 225,000 total engagements, according to the brand.