Every mature consumer category has its visual and storytelling shortcuts.
Car commercials show winding roads and pristine vehicles in motion.
Tourism campaigns have sweeping drone shots over beaches or cities.
Beer ads highlight sociability, good times and fun.
And soft drinks? They almost always show someone taking a thirst-quenching sip.
These are more than creative habits. They are category conventions. And they exist for a reason. They align with how audiences make decisions, particularly in low-involvement, high-frequency categories.
That is why Rubicon’s latest campaign is such an interesting move.
When a brand breaks the script
Rubicon has released a new series of four juice commercials, each one focused on a different flavour. The tone is playful, the colour palette is retro and the storytelling is bold. But what really stands out is this: no one drinks the product.
Instead of focusing on refreshment or thirst, the ads lean into something the brand calls “big flavour behaviour”. Characters respond to the drink’s boldness in quirky, stylised ways, but the drink itself is never consumed on screen.
This connects directly to Step 2 of The Six Unmissable Steps to a Winning Creative Strategy:
Decide whether to follow or break your category’s communication conventions.
In this case, Rubicon chooses to break them.
Watch one of the commercials here:
🎬 Rubicon “Orange Mango” – Watch the ad
Not the first time, but still a bold choice
Rubicon is not the first soft drink brand to remove the classic consumption cue.
Two iconic campaigns from the past also ignored the drinking shot:
🟠 Tango – “That’s the hit of the whole fruit”
This ad focused on exaggerated reactions and surreal comedy.
▶️ Watch here
🟤 Dr Pepper – “What’s the worst that could happen?”
The brand leaned into storytelling and personality, not refreshment.
▶️ Watch here
These worked because the creative idea was bold, distinctive and memorable enough to carry the ad without needing to show the obvious.
The strategic risk
This takes us to Step 1:
Understand how your audience makes decisions.
Category conventions are not accidental. They exist because they reflect behavioural patterns. In the case of Coca-Cola, for example, almost every ad includes someone drinking. The reason is simple: it reminds the viewer what action the brand wants them to take.
If you remove that cue, you need to replace it with something stronger. Otherwise, the message might get lost or worse, consumers won’t understand what you are actually selling.
Rubicon’s campaign is a calculated risk. It aims to substitute consumption with personality and tone. Whether it succeeds will depend on how clearly the flavour message lands and how closely audiences associate it with Rubicon.
What should you take away?
You do not need to follow every category rule. But if you are going to break them, be sure you have something better to say. Distinctiveness only matters when it helps your audience remember and choose you.
📘 Want to explore when to follow or challenge your category’s norms?
Download our free guide:
👉 The Six Unmissable Steps to a Winning Creative Strategy
Or visit the perrycallan Blog for more strategic creative reviews.