Dr Pepper is bringing back “Fansville,” its episodic drama featuring parody storytelling from a college football fanatic town, for a fourth year this season. Fans will recognize many of the faces returning to this year’s episodes, including Brian Bosworth as Sheriff. In addition to featuring a student athlete for the first time—thanks to new NIL rules—“Fansville” is also adding College Football Hall of Famer Joe Theismann to the cast this year.
“This is my first season collaborating with Dr Pepper on Fansville,” said Theismann. “I’m excited to bring to life fans’ passion for college football. In past years, it’s been exciting to see what Dr Pepper comes up with to showcase fans’ spirit for the love of the game, teams, players, and game-day rituals.”
“Joe Theismann is an iconic American football star who is beloved by the fans,” said Derek Dabrowski, VP of Dr Pepper Brand Marketing. “He's a natural fit to be featured in our Fansville campaign that is all about celebrating the love of fandom and the sport.”
Bosworth says he’s looking forward to playing his role as Sheriff again.
“It’s so much fun,” said Bosworth of returning to “Fansville.” The Sheriff is such an iconic figure now in Fansville, and Fansville has become this accepted town of love and appreciation for what’s so good about college football. To be able to come back and revisit the role again and have the same crew and the same cast members and to see the cast member’s lives grow, it’s a microcosm of what life is really like with fans in real towns.”
Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was tapped earlier this month to be the first current student athlete featured in the “Fansville” campaign.
“I think it's funny,” Uiagalelei said. “I think it's entertaining, I love all the new commercials they do every week for it, so I'm super excited to be on it.”
Real life and “Fansville” collide when College Football Hall of Famer Bosworth playing the Sheriff says, “College athletes can be in commercials now?” in the teaser above before turning on the television to see Uaigalelei talking about Dr Pepper.
The transfer portal will also be referenced in “Fansville” this season. Bosworth says part of what he loves about the campaign is the way it adapts with the game of college football.
“We’re going to talk about the subtle changes that have happened in college football and how that’s going to effect the game, even though we don’t really know exactly how it’s going to change the game,” said Bosworth about changes to the game such as NIL and the transfer portal. “There’s really no subject that’s taboo.”
Theismann says part of what drew him to work with Dr Pepper is how well the brand understands and represents college football.
“It’s awesome to see how Dr Pepper celebrates fans’ love for their favorite teams in a way that is authentic to the spirit of fandom. When partnering with a brand, it is important to see that authenticity shines through.”
For Bosworth, Dr Pepper is inextricably tied to memories of childhood.
“I grew up drinking Dr Pepper. My mom and dad would leave me 50 cents in the summertime. Part of it would get me into the pool, and then I could get a Dr Pepper for 10 cents and a Payday bar for 15 cents. That would make me happy.”
Bosworth praised how Dr Pepper handled last year’s unprecedented college football season, which saw the brand still feature a new “Fansville” campaign shot entirely through virtual production to keep actors safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s a special kind of love that Dr Pepper extends to college football. Even through the last year—with a lot of anger and chaos and fear—Dr Pepper was there. They were there to support and promote college football and just bring a sense of calmness to college football and saying, ‘We’re still going to be here. We’re always going to be here, and we’re all going to make it through this.’ To have a company that has that kind of commitment is rare, and to be part of it is really, really special.”
Dabrowski says Dr Pepper keeps “Fansville” fresh each year by not shying away from addressing what happening in the real world.
“Each year the team brings back Fansville in a bigger and better way by looking at the cultural tides and trends, and adding our own Dr Pepper sense of humor to it.”
The "Fansville" ad campaign premieres today and runs throughout the college football season into the College Football Playoff series. Dr Pepper was the first sponsor of the College Football Playoff and is the presenting sponsor of the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy.
