Our insights showed that people who identify as “misfits” seek spaces where they can feel seen or accepted for living authentically without fear of judgement. They engage in unusual sensory activities, craving the unexpected. With 70% of them finding comfort in online spaces that reflect their interests, they seek content that challenges the “norms”.

To reach them, we created a safe, inclusive space that championed individuality – the weirder, the better. We wanted them to feel that nothing was off-limits so they could explore and play with Dr Pepper authentically, boosting brand love.

Drawing inspiration from the “Try More Weird” billboards that offered vortexes to weird and wonderful experiences, our strategy was to immerse attendees in the Dr Pepper world with unique ways to sample that broke all usual conventions.

The pop-up landed with a bang in Chavasse Park. We encouraged attendees to “exit the normal”, embracing an experience that went from weird to full-on bonkers. They entered a giant mouth, travelling down a spiralling black-and-white tunnel, distorting their reality.

Met by Head Fizzycist - he informed guests that the Dr Pepper formula had been stolen and the supermarket was in lockdown! The only way out? They had to taste their way to freedom. Adorning attendees in propellor hats and unnecessarily chanting “wibbles”, we led them into the Ames aisle, where proportions went out the window, creating a mind-altering photo op for guests to snap photos.

Moving into Frozen Fooood, guests found themselves in a prehistoric freezer packed with a strange selection of foods, from mammoth steaks to unicorn wings. A mist of Dr Pepper kept the room ice-cold, which our misfits could taste using a straw to suck the flavoured vapour from a sphere.

In the Dr Pepper Taste Lab, people had to catch Dr Pepper-flavoured bubbles in their mouths from an erupting volcano, triggering a clue from the Mouthy Flunkies (bizarre creatures with Dr Pepper cans or mouths for heads). A blacklight on the table revealed directions to a fishing rod, letting them scoop a key from a tank to escape.

Venturing down the Passage of Rubber Chickens, guests finally came to the upside-down checkout, where we flipped their worlds (literally) upside down for another surreal photo op. Guests got cans of Dr Pepper before we released them back into the “normal” world.

Every moment of the experience, we cranked up the weird to the max. Even the smallest details were innovatively planned to push the boundaries of the expected and to challenge “normal” while immersing people in the world of Dr Pepper Zerooo.