Who is the big guy on the Mountain Dew commercial?
A look at Mountain Dew’s hulking new mascot, the ad campaign behind him, and the people — and cameos — who help the brand grab attention.
(By Carmichael Phillip)
Mountain Dew’s recent ad push introduced a personality the brand calls the “Mountain Dude”: a hulking, long-haired, bearded figure who looks like he wandered straight out of a modern fairytale — part outdoorsman, part eccentric mascot. The character instantly became the visual shorthand for the campaign’s vibe: playful, slightly surreal, and built to dominate attention in short, high-impact spots. The Mountain Dude shows up in multiple brand films, greeting celebrities, offering Baja Blast bottles, and asking cheekily if “we should bring in the big guy,” which sets up the ad’s punchlines.
The figure most viewers call the “big guy” or Mountain Dude has been played in recent Mountain Dew campaigns by Icelandic strongman and actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Björnsson, widely known for his height and former roles where his imposing presence was central (including a role on Game of Thrones and his career as a world-class strongman), brings an instantly recognizable physicality to the ads — he’s literally built to be memorable on camera. Multiple trade write-ups and casting mentions identify him as the face (and the frame) of this iteration of Mountain Dew’s larger-than-life persona.
Advertising is shorthand: scrawl a few visual cues and your audience fills in the rest. By casting an actual giant — both literally tall and figuratively outsized — Mountain Dew shortcut the setup. A figure like Björnsson reads instantly as strong, outdoorsy and a little comic when placed in whimsical situations (a fur coat made in Dew colors; sunglasses indoors; handing someone a bottle of Baja Blast as if revealing a treasure). The contrast between his physical severity and the carefree, jokey tone of the spots creates the brand lift ad teams crave: something that stops your thumb, elicits a laugh, and makes the product the hero of the moment. Trade coverage of the campaign explicitly says the Mountain Dude was designed to “live life to the max” and to be a new, shareable brand character.
Mountain Dew leaned hard into spectacle for its Super Bowl 2025 spot. The teaser and the full ad play up celebrity cameos (Becky G and musician Seal appear in the commercial), surreal visual gags (Seal literally transformed into a seal in parts of the campaign), and a cheeky “should we bring in the big guy?” line that primes the audience for the reveal. The Super Bowl tease was widely covered in advertising press and entertainment outlets; the commercial itself was directed with a wink-heavy style and used the Mountain Dude’s presence to frame celebrity moments rather than to be the only attention grabber. If you want to watch the spot, Mountain Dew’s Super Bowl commercial and teasers are available on official channels and YouTube/partners.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson rose to international fame in two arenas. First, he is one of the best known strongmen of his generation, with a competition history that includes world titles and record-setting lifts. Second, he crossed into mainstream acting with work that emphasized his stature — the easiest shorthand for casting directors when they need a character who literally towers over the frame. That crossover makes him ideal for this kind of spot: he brings both a physical credibility (you believe the “mountain” image) and a late-night-sketch flexibility (he can play surreal comedy while remaining believable). Citing Björnsson in ad coverage and casting pieces has reinforced him as the person viewers call the “big guy.”
Ads that aim to be talked about must deliver moments that are both shareable and discussable. Mountain Dew’s strategy here is twofold: (1) pair an outsized in-brand character (the Mountain Dude) with (2) celebrity turns that broaden reach and conversation (Becky G, Seal, and other surprise appearances). The result: social posts and clip-able moments that work on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube — and a Super Bowl spot primed for repeat viewing. Coverage across Adweek, People and entertainment outlets flagged both the celebrity appearances and the Mountain Dude’s role as central hooks for the campaign.
Casting a giant in a comical role invites a spectrum of responses. Some viewers relish the absurdity — the idea of a mighty, bearded mountain man handing out Baja Blast bottles is rich meme material. Others push back: social commentary sometimes frames the spots as deliberately weird for attention’s sake. That tension, however, is part of the point. Ads that sit in the middle of cultural conversation — whether that conversation is praise, parody or critique — often win on visibility. The campaign’s splash in outlets and on social platforms shows that Mountain Dew achieved the basic ad objective: people are talking about the brand and its creative choices.
Directorial choices and music cues shape how an ad’s characters read. Mountain Dew’s Super Bowl spot used a playful musical callback (“Kiss From a Rose” reframed as a Dew-centric gag in the Seal cameo) and a visual palette that emphasized curls of tropical lime and bright Baja Blast hues. The Mountain Dude is costumed in Mountain Dew-friendly colors (yes, even the fur coat screams brand green), and camera framing tends to play him as both monument and comic foil — large in the frame, but framed to serve the joke. Director and creative team choices are reported in industry pieces that previewed and analyzed the Big Game spots.
A mascot-style figure can be ephemeral or evergreen. Sometimes it’s a one-season stunt; sometimes it becomes a recurring brand asset. By creating a figure with such a strong visual identity, Mountain Dew sets itself up to reuse the Mountain Dude in seasonal pushes, collabs, and social content. The actor behind him (an attention-grabbing public figure) helps ensure that the character remains a talking point beyond the initial broadcast window. If the brand follows the script of other successful modern mascots — keep him visible, give him recurring beats and pair him with fresh celebrities — the Mountain Dude could become a durable part of Mountain Dew’s advertising language. Trade outlets have framed the campaign as a deliberate attempt to give the brand a shareable character for the social era.
If you want to see the Mountain Dude in action, Mountain Dew’s teasers and full Super Bowl commercial are hosted on official channels and were widely shared to YouTube and partner sites after the Big Game premiere. The Super Bowl spot featuring Becky G and Seal — and the Mountain Dude’s big-screen charisma — is available on Mountain Dew’s official uploads and on mainstream video platforms. For the most direct viewing, check the brand’s official YouTube releases and entertainment coverage that embeds the spot.
Mountain Dew’s “big guy” gambit is classic modern advertising: pair an instantly legible visual (a towering mountain man) with celebrity cameos, clever music callbacks and a social-first framing. The result is a spot that lives beyond its airtime — prompting headlines, memes and water-cooler chat. For viewers wondering “who is the big guy,” the answer is simple: the brand cast a performer whose physical persona amplifies the ad’s joke, and that performer is Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Whether the Mountain Dude becomes an enduring mascot or a memorable one-off, the campaign accomplished its core job — getting people to stop, watch, and talk.
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