Living Things is marking a major milestone in its growth with the launch of ‘Refresh Your Inner Thing’, its first-ever above-the-line campaign and biggest marketing investment to date.
Launching across London from 7th September, the campaign will run across London Underground, street posters and buses for four weeks, reaching an estimated 5.73 million people, with out-of-home activity supported by in-store activation designed to take the campaign from street to shelf.
The move comes as Living Things enters its next chapter of growth, stepping up investment in brand awareness alongside its rapidly expanding distribution across grocery, convenience, independents and foodservice.
That growing retail footprint has directly shaped the campaign’s media strategy. Media agency Bountiful Cow has developed a neighbourhood-first approach, concentrating activity around London areas where Living Things already has strong retail availability, from independents and smaller chains to grocery and convenience – putting the advertising close to where shoppers can actually find and buy the product.
The campaign will also extend into retail, with ‘Refresh Your Inner Thing’ point-of-sale materials including FSDUs, wobblers and shelf barkers rolling out across ASDA Express, Ocado and independent convenience stores across London.
Jonathan Relph, Founder of Living Things, said: “We’ve grown Living Things quickly by getting the product into more of the places people buy and enjoy soft drinks. This campaign marks the next big chapter for us – building awareness around that distribution and giving more people a reason to reach for Living Things when they see us on shelf or in the chiller.”
“We also want to make sure that including functional ingredients, doesn’t mean removing the fun! People want better-for-you choices, but they don’t suddenly stop caring about flavour, refreshment or enjoyment. As biotic soda becomes part of everyday soft drink occasions, it still has to deliver something that tastes great, feels good and gives people a little lift from the inside out.”
Developed by creative agency Lovers, ‘Refresh Your Inner Thing’ takes a more emotional approach to a functional drinks category that has become increasingly focused on features, ingredients and health claims.
Instead, Living Things is putting great flavour, refreshment and fun back at the centre of the soda experience – combining better-for-you benefits with the fizz, personality and feel-good factor people still want from a soft drink.
The campaign’s bold, high-energy creative features Living Things’ bestselling Watermelon & Lime and Raspberry & Pomegranate flavours, using movement, colour and energy to capture the refreshing, feel-good experience at the heart of the brand.
As a better-for-you soda, Living Things nourishes your insides physically, while this campaign playfully explores what it means to refresh your ‘inner thing’ emotionally too.
The campaign features two main characters flexing their refreshed ‘inner thing’: a majestic watermelon-seed-flecked centaur (with flicking lime tail) on its way to work, and a raspberry-tinged flying thing out for some light exercise. Like the drink itself, both are lightly sparkling.
Alex Ostrowski, Creative Director at Lovers said “I think when you’re raising awareness in a big way for the first time, you have to make the most of your name, and ‘Living Things’ gives us so much to play with. As modern, health-aware folks, we know we’re supposed to love our microbiomes… but we can’t really ‘see’ our inner biology day-to-day.
"Our psychological and spiritual selves are even more unknowable. In an age where everything’s supposed to be explainable and on show, we got really interested in how Living Things could be a brand that explores what’s going on inside audiences, embracing the wildness of feelings, instincts, and partially hidden identities.”
The launch follows a period of rapid momentum for Living Things, including the launch of Cherry & Lime flavour earlier this year and continued expansion across major retailers including Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Ocado and ASDA Express, alongside growing convenience, independent and foodservice distribution.
It also follows investment from The Source Ventures, Spadel Group’s venture capital fund, which is supporting Living Things’ next phase of growth across marketing, team, operations and international distribution.