Sprite: HURTS REAL GOOD

A 'perfect pairing' for spicy food has long been the domain of tools-for-cool; milk, ice cream, the nearest body of water... But what if you're a real heat-seeker? What if you want to kick the spice up a level? What if your 'perfect pairing' isn't something that tames the pain, but instead something that 'Hurts Real Good'?

Sprite believes it's the dinner date that these hot-heads need.

Led by Ogilvy, WPP Open X's new campaign for the soft drink targets gen z's passion for spicy cuisine by presenting the lemon-lime soda as a "hit of icy" - a chaser for hot dishes that intensifies the burn.

The hero film juxtaposes the heat-hater solutions -- dunking one's head in a sink, or drinking a mouth-numbing antidote -- with Sprite drinkers' elevated experience, narrated scientifically by a Bunsen burner-wielding physics professor. The sound is a particular highlight, composed of teary-eyed cries of chilli-induced anguish, and fiery breaths of relief.

It's a strategy that flips a common behaviour on its head, and ties into something of a movement in gen z culture. So even if you're not a mealtime masochist, perhaps you'll make the link between fizz and fire going forward