US-based beverage brand Zevia is bringing rapper Cardi B’s trademark honesty and humour into its latest campaign, Real Talk Interpreter, built around the moments when people say one thing but mean something else.
The campaign plays on a familiar social habit, keeping conversations polite on the surface while having a completely different thought in mind. Cardi steps in as the person who says the quiet part out loud, decoding everyday interactions with the directness that has become part of her public image.
In one of the films, set at a neighbourhood potluck, casual compliments and friendly exchanges get a less-filtered interpretation from Cardi. Another spot takes place during a parent-teacher conversation, where carefully worded statements are translated into their real meaning.
The films feature Zevia’s Orange Creamsicle and Creamy Root Beer variants, but the product remains secondary to the larger idea behind the campaign. The brand uses Cardi’s personality to reinforce its own message around authenticity, a connection between soda made without sugar or artificial ingredients and a celebrity known for being unapologetically herself.
Created as Zevia’s first campaign with Cardi B, Real Talk Interpreter will run across streaming TV, video platforms, social media and retail touchpoints. The brand is also turning the idea into a consumer interaction, inviting people to share everyday situations they want Cardi to decode, with selected responses appearing across social channels.
Alongside the campaign, Zevia and Cardi B have launched a summer sweepstakes featuring signed merchandise, free products and other prizes. Retail displays featuring the partnership will also bring the campaign into stores.
