• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 6, 2014

Brisk, the iced tea brand owned jointly by PepsiCo and Unilever, has just kicked off a new marketing campaign titled “Not Half Bad,” with ads produced by its Los Angeles-based ad shop Mekanism.

The new advertising campaign debuted today and supports the brand’s new product line Half & Half -- a variety of tea and lemonade-based drinks. The brand describes the ads, which can be seen here, as “stripped down” and “honest,” the way they say their millennial target wants them. There were no scripts, stylists or green rooms. Instead, Brisk brought in “real people” from its core consumer base and asked for their reactions to the drinks.

The ads represent a new approach to the market, said Eric Whitehouse, director of marketing at Brisk Iced Tea.  “This new direction is refreshingly honest,” said Whitehouse. “We’re not trying to be louder than all of the brands around us -- we’re connecting with our fans in an authentic and relatable way, and letting the consumers and products speak for themselves.”

The campaign includes radio, out-of-home, mobile and digital, and will appear on the brand’s digital portal BriskBodega.com. There is also an “under-the-cap/under-the-tab” promotion on one-liter bottles and 24-ounce cans beginning May 19. Prizes include more than 4,000 custom premiums and a grand prize winner will have a chance to win a 2014 Chevy Avalanche truck with a custom paint job by Crooks & Castles.

The new Half & Half product line will also be front-and-center during Brisk’s return to SXSW under the Brisk Bodega umbrella. At the festival, the brand is teaming up with Roc Nation recording artist and producer DJ Mustard as part of a lineup of activities. The brand is also sponsoring performances at SXSW by artists TY$, YG, Deniro Farrar, among others.