The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2025–2026
Dr Pepper turns a fan's viral 'good and nice' jingle into a national TV ad
A homemade 11-second Dr Pepper jingle explodes on TikTok; the brand licenses it, credits the creator and airs it twice in the CFP title game.
Dr Pepper (Keurig Dr Pepper)
What it had to solve
On 23 December 2025, Romeo Bingham, a 25-year-old caregiver from Tacoma, Washington, posted an 11-second homemade jingle — 'Dr Pepper baby, it's good and nice, doo doo doo' — tagging the brand. It raced past 25 million views and spawned remixes, dances and fan-made commercials, and Dr Pepper's senior VP of connected media later said the signal was so loud that ignoring it was not an option.
How it works
Romeo Bingham, a 25-year-old caregiver from Tacoma, Washington, posted a simple 11-second idea to TikTok on 23 December 2025: a homemade jingle that went 'Dr Pepper baby, it's good and nice, doo doo doo,' with the brand tagged and an invitation to do business. Within weeks it had more than 25 million views and its own ecosystem of remixes, dances and fan-made commercials.
Dr Pepper's marketing team chose to treat the fan content as the campaign rather than compete with it. Agency Deutsch produced a 15-second television spot built around Bingham's original hook — beverage pours over regular, Diet and Zero Sugar cans, bold on-screen lyrics and the 'doot doot doot' outro that had become its own subgenre — with an @romeosshow credit styled like a music video. The brand licensed the jingle from Bingham and shelved one planned 'Fansville' placement so the spot could run twice during ESPN's College Football Playoff National Championship on 19 January 2026.
The decision preserved what made the moment work: Deutsch's Ryan Lehr said the agency focused on honoring the jingle rather than overproducing it, and Dr Pepper's Ben Sylvan called the audience response 'a brick to forehead' moment. Bingham was credited, paid through a formal licensing deal, and kept working with the brand on more social content in the months that followed.
At the 30th annual Webby Awards in April 2026, the Dr Pepper jingle response won Real-Time Response Campaign and was also named Best Creator or Influencer Endorsement and Best Viral PR Campaign — an example of a brand turning an unsponsored fan moment into an official, nationally broadcast ad in less than a month.
Why it lands
- The brand saw an unsponsored creator post as the loudest audience signal available and made it the campaign instead of ignoring it.
- Licensing and crediting Bingham kept the collaboration respectful, so the fan's audience celebrated rather than resented the brand's adoption of the idea.
- Keeping the lo-fi hook and 'doot doot doot' outro intact preserved the exact quality that made the jingle viral.
- Swapping a planned media buy for the new spot let Dr Pepper respond at national scale within weeks, not quarters.
What it did
The spot reached the championship broadcast's national audience weeks after the fan video appeared, giving an unsponsored creator moment official brand status; Dr Pepper kept working with Bingham on further social content. Webby jurors named the response the winner of Real-Time Response Campaign at the 30th annual awards, alongside Best Creator or Influencer Endorsement and Best Viral PR Campaign.
What you can take
When the audience hands you the message, do not polish it away: license the creator's original, keep the lo-fi hook and credit them, and let the media plan follow culture.
Since then
The 15-second spot aired twice during the College Football Playoff National Championship on 19 January 2026, and Dr Pepper continued collaborating with Romeo Bingham on social content under a formal licensing deal; Bingham also went on to write jingles for other brands. Industry coverage treated the episode as a template for real-time marketing — a signal loud enough to displace an already-purchased national media plan. In April 2026 the 30th Webby Awards honored the work as Real-Time Response Campaign, Best Creator or Influencer Endorsement and Best Viral PR Campaign.
Sources
- Dr Pepper Turns Viral TikTok Creator's Jingle Into College Grid Iron Ad Via Deutsch
- Dr Pepper Turns a TikTok Jingle Into National TV Advertising
- The advertising, media, and PR award winners from the 30th annual Webby Awards
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