Florida Atlantic Advertising Students Shine in Lemon Lime Soda Campaign

In a semester filled with creativity, innovation, and real-world challenges, Florida Atlantic students showcased their advertising prowess in a collaborative company/ class project. Spearheaded by Abby Hoover, ECOM Sales Manager for PepsiCo’s Starry brand, students took on the challenge of creating an advertising campaign for the newly launched Starry Lemon Lime Soda.

Starry Lemon Lime Soda entered the market in January 2023, facing competition from long-standing brands like Sprite and 7 Up. In my advertising classes, students spent the semester applying their skills of market research and social listening to developing a campaign.

Hoover evaluated 18 team presentations in person and via Zoom to identify the top three. Standout campaigns were the "Play to Win with Starry" campaign, led by Savannah Garland, Levi Hardy, and Sarah McCartney and the "Shooting for the Stars" campaign, featuring Sebastian Diaz Blanco, Olivia Collins, Nina Derkovic, Michelle Seymour, and Huong Tran.

Sarah McCartney, a student in one of the top teams, expressed her gratitude for the real-world experience. "It was very rewarding and cool to present all my hard work to Professor Acello and Abby Hoover at the end of the semester and get their feedback on our campaign! I will apply the skills I learned from this class to my career as I now have a better grasp about advertising and creating an advertising campaign."

Nina Derkovic, student of a second winning team, shared her thoughts on project: "This class exceeded my expectations. Going into this semester, I thought I was very knowledgeable about Advertising. However, I found myself eager to learn something new every day I attended class. I plan to take what I’ve learned, and how I’ve grown, from this class with me and apply it towards my future career in Marketing."

The Honorable Mention category was secured by the "Rolling Starry Bottle" campaign, a nostalgic homage created by Julia Berg, Calvin Carrie, Sierra Danastor, Sydney Hatfield, and Keller Shogren. The campaign took inspiration from a Chef Boyardee advertisement circa 2004.

Sydney Hatfield, a student from the Honorable Mention team stated “Getting to work with Starry and Abby Hoover has been tremendous. We can all say that we have learned a lot throughout this project. It has truly given us a taste of what to expect in our future professions. The knowledge and experience of advertising gained from this project is something we are grateful for and hope to continue using in the future."

After working with three marketing classes on challenges including Mountain Dew and Starbucks, Hoover shared: “Working and interacting with the diverse marketing students at FAU has been a tremendous experience that has provided PepsiCo with innovative marketing and advertising ideas to capture the consumers of today, tomorrow and future.”

As their instructor, I value these companies and the competitions that engage my students in active learning. The practical skills gained from this class serve as valuable talking points in interviews and enable students to build strong portfolios for their future careers and allow them to show examples of their capabilities to potential employers. The lemon lime soda campaign not only quenched the students' thirst for knowledge but also leaves a lasting fizz for their professional journeys.

Under Professor Eileen Acello's guidance, FAU marketing students have worked with a variety of brands, including the following: 

E&J Gallo Wines/Barefoot Wine   l  Carmela Coffee & Toast Café   l   PepsiCo/Starbucks Cold & Crafted On-Tap   l  New Amsterdam Vodka/Pink Whitney   l   Scrub Daddy 

E&J Gallo Wines/High Noon Vodka Seltzers   l   Newell Brands/Mr. Coffee   l   Wawa, Inc. Convenience Stores  l   Robinson Fresh   l   Campbell Soup Company/Pacific Foods

Hormel Foods/Skippy Peanutbutter   l   NOAA National Seafood Grant   l  Barnes & Noble’s Nook Reading Device   l   FitCrunch Protein Bars (Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine)

Interested in being the next company/brand to work with Professor Acello's students? Please contact: eacello@fau.edu

-FAU-