Pepsi is known for its youth-centric advertising, so much so that some
of its communications went on to become legendary for the Indian youth.
The brand has taken some of the finest positioning in its ads—Yeh hi hai Right Choice Baby Aha', 'Youngistaan', 'Yeh Dil Maange More' and 'Nothing Official About It'.
However, in the last few years, the brand has not been able to re-create a similar magic in its communication especially with ads aired in India. Not that we don't remember any of them.
However, in the last few years, the brand has not been able to re-create a similar magic in its communication especially with ads aired in India. Not that we don't remember any of them.
Pepsi's latest TVC
We remember its campaigns such as 'Crash the IPL'; World cup 2015 ad that had MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina; 'Pressure is Good'; 'Oh Yes Abhi'. These did fairly well as far as generating conversations was concerned, but their recall value wasn't much.
Now, the company is trying to bounce back and re-create the old-age magic with its latest campaign 'Pepsi thi...Pi Gaya'. This new campaign is derived from the single idea that one cannot say no to Pepsi despite being in any situation.
Designed and conceptualized by J. Walter Thompson, the film shows how a young student couldn't say No to Pepsi while he was participating in an ongoing hunger strike by college students. He grabs a bottle of Pepsi and drinks it. After realizing that he failed his classmates, he gives them an innocent explanation: 'Pepsi thi pi Gaya'.
We remember its campaigns such as 'Crash the IPL'; World cup 2015 ad that had MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina; 'Pressure is Good'; 'Oh Yes Abhi'. These did fairly well as far as generating conversations was concerned, but their recall value wasn't much.
Now, the company is trying to bounce back and re-create the old-age magic with its latest campaign 'Pepsi thi...Pi Gaya'. This new campaign is derived from the single idea that one cannot say no to Pepsi despite being in any situation.
Designed and conceptualized by J. Walter Thompson, the film shows how a young student couldn't say No to Pepsi while he was participating in an ongoing hunger strike by college students. He grabs a bottle of Pepsi and drinks it. After realizing that he failed his classmates, he gives them an innocent explanation: 'Pepsi thi pi Gaya'.
Pepsi 'Yeh Dil Maange More' campaign
According to Anshul Khanna, Director, Pepsi Marketing, PepsiCo India, "The new 'Pepsi thi, pi gaya' campaign celebrates the magical Pepsi taste that consumers just can't say no to! Consumers today are impulsive and spontaneous, and nothing can keep them away from what they truly desire - especially their Pepsi. Pepsi Thi, pi Gaya TVC is an articulation of this very attitude and an attempt to define the refreshing taste that Pepsi brings for the consumers. We are confident that it will resonate very well with consumers.''
According to Anshul Khanna, Director, Pepsi Marketing, PepsiCo India, "The new 'Pepsi thi, pi gaya' campaign celebrates the magical Pepsi taste that consumers just can't say no to! Consumers today are impulsive and spontaneous, and nothing can keep them away from what they truly desire - especially their Pepsi. Pepsi Thi, pi Gaya TVC is an articulation of this very attitude and an attempt to define the refreshing taste that Pepsi brings for the consumers. We are confident that it will resonate very well with consumers.''
Pepsi 'Yeh hi hai Right Choice Baby Aha' campaign
The key idea behind the film was to bring 'Aha' to Pepsi's communication. Senthil Kumar, NCD, J. Walter Thompson says, "Our research suggested that people do not need a reason to drink Pepsi, and hence it is an instinctive process. They see the drink; get the urge and consume it. So, we aimed at creating such trivial situations (student protest in this case) in which people despite being under stress just simply grab the drink without much thinking contemplation. The idea was to show how much people love Pepsi."
This campaign looks like an attempt by Pepsi to up its advertising and communication stature to the next level. "Today many brands are focusing on the youth centric communication, which has resulted in shifting Pepsi's communication to background. However, Pepsi is an iconic brand and has championed the art of communication and we believe that this time we have hit the brief bang on," shares Kumar.
The key idea behind the film was to bring 'Aha' to Pepsi's communication. Senthil Kumar, NCD, J. Walter Thompson says, "Our research suggested that people do not need a reason to drink Pepsi, and hence it is an instinctive process. They see the drink; get the urge and consume it. So, we aimed at creating such trivial situations (student protest in this case) in which people despite being under stress just simply grab the drink without much thinking contemplation. The idea was to show how much people love Pepsi."
This campaign looks like an attempt by Pepsi to up its advertising and communication stature to the next level. "Today many brands are focusing on the youth centric communication, which has resulted in shifting Pepsi's communication to background. However, Pepsi is an iconic brand and has championed the art of communication and we believe that this time we have hit the brief bang on," shares Kumar.
Pepsi 'Nothing Official About it' campaign
This is one of the major Pepsi campaigns of the year, which aims to keep the magic of Colas (Pepsico) alive. Normally, Pepsi breaks two major campaigns every year one in summers and other in winters. First one was the IPL campaign, which was a tactical campaign. This must be their second one.
Babita Baruah, Senior Vice President, P01 Unit, J. Walter Thompson shares, "Pepsi as a brand is even greater than the product. So, we never get the brief to drive numbers. However, it is to ensure that brand is part of the youth culture. Likewise, previous campaigns such as 'Yeh Dil Maange More' or 'Nothing Official About It' were a part of the youth mindset at that time."
The campaign is led by TVC and will be supported by digital. We have also learnt that there will be more to this campaign in future but have received no official clarification on the same by the agency. The media part of the campaign is handled by Mindshare.
The film was released a week ago on YouTube and has already fetched nearly 8 lakh views. It began the campaign by releasing snapshots of the film as teasers on Facebook and then released the video.
'AHA'?
How effective is Pepsi's idea to connect well to today's youth? KV Sridhar (Pops), Chief Creative Officer, SapientNitro points out that this is a 20 year old advertising idea and the brand is just not been able to crack a contemporary idea that resonates with today's youth.
"The brand needs to understand today's youth a little better. Today's youth is serious about his choices, ready to face challenges and provide solutions instead waiting for help. They can run this country and are the face of change. However, this film shows how a boy fails his batchmates and friends at a protest for a cold drink, which I do not think youth associate with. Imagine a student of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) doing such a thing at a hunger protest. The ad reminds me of the how the goons and corrupt leaders carry out protest. The execution of the ad is fine, but the strategy is completely missing a strong and contemporary idea that associates with youth. They need to see the concepts from many other brands coming up with bang on ideas reflecting youth's ideology," he adds.
However, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous, finds the campaign a much better idea than what Pepsi has come up with in last few years, but believes that it is still missing the punch on the strategy part. "The brand has definitely stepped up its advertising. The idea has a lot of strength and if taken forward in the right direction, it has the ability to become big. But, let alone this film will not do the job and the brand needs to come out with more such films in the days to follow. However, the punch that makes Pepsi as an energetic brand is missing," he shares.
Sridhar further points out that Pepsi ads have been failing in India in the last 15-20 years. "They have lost their sheen and were at peak with several campaigns such as 'Yeh Dil Maange More', 'Nothing Official About It' or Sachin Tendulkar ads. They have just not been delivering as per the brand's expectation. Times are changing and so is the country's demography but people who run Pepsi are above 50s and they are taking out ideas from their memories, which unfortunately is not working in the current times. On the other hand, there are many old brands which have come up with great concepts and have positioned themselves as fresh and young," argues Sridhar.
Khazanchi also feels that Pepsi is struggling with the idea part, but he believes that the brand has released some good campaigns too. "Today many brands are playing in the youth-centric space, so Pepsi will have to come with something, which is out of the box to beat them," says Khazanchi.
Read our entire coverage on Pepsi
Can 'Pepsi thi, pee gaya', become the popular lingo in the culture like 'Yeh Dil Maange More' and others? Khazanchi is doubtful. He says, "The lines like 'Nothing Official About It' or 'Yeh Dil Maange more' were anecdotes from life and the new punchline is more product oriented."
This is one of the major Pepsi campaigns of the year, which aims to keep the magic of Colas (Pepsico) alive. Normally, Pepsi breaks two major campaigns every year one in summers and other in winters. First one was the IPL campaign, which was a tactical campaign. This must be their second one.
Babita Baruah, Senior Vice President, P01 Unit, J. Walter Thompson shares, "Pepsi as a brand is even greater than the product. So, we never get the brief to drive numbers. However, it is to ensure that brand is part of the youth culture. Likewise, previous campaigns such as 'Yeh Dil Maange More' or 'Nothing Official About It' were a part of the youth mindset at that time."
The campaign is led by TVC and will be supported by digital. We have also learnt that there will be more to this campaign in future but have received no official clarification on the same by the agency. The media part of the campaign is handled by Mindshare.
The film was released a week ago on YouTube and has already fetched nearly 8 lakh views. It began the campaign by releasing snapshots of the film as teasers on Facebook and then released the video.
'AHA'?
How effective is Pepsi's idea to connect well to today's youth? KV Sridhar (Pops), Chief Creative Officer, SapientNitro points out that this is a 20 year old advertising idea and the brand is just not been able to crack a contemporary idea that resonates with today's youth.
"The brand needs to understand today's youth a little better. Today's youth is serious about his choices, ready to face challenges and provide solutions instead waiting for help. They can run this country and are the face of change. However, this film shows how a boy fails his batchmates and friends at a protest for a cold drink, which I do not think youth associate with. Imagine a student of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) doing such a thing at a hunger protest. The ad reminds me of the how the goons and corrupt leaders carry out protest. The execution of the ad is fine, but the strategy is completely missing a strong and contemporary idea that associates with youth. They need to see the concepts from many other brands coming up with bang on ideas reflecting youth's ideology," he adds.
However, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous, finds the campaign a much better idea than what Pepsi has come up with in last few years, but believes that it is still missing the punch on the strategy part. "The brand has definitely stepped up its advertising. The idea has a lot of strength and if taken forward in the right direction, it has the ability to become big. But, let alone this film will not do the job and the brand needs to come out with more such films in the days to follow. However, the punch that makes Pepsi as an energetic brand is missing," he shares.
Sridhar further points out that Pepsi ads have been failing in India in the last 15-20 years. "They have lost their sheen and were at peak with several campaigns such as 'Yeh Dil Maange More', 'Nothing Official About It' or Sachin Tendulkar ads. They have just not been delivering as per the brand's expectation. Times are changing and so is the country's demography but people who run Pepsi are above 50s and they are taking out ideas from their memories, which unfortunately is not working in the current times. On the other hand, there are many old brands which have come up with great concepts and have positioned themselves as fresh and young," argues Sridhar.
Khazanchi also feels that Pepsi is struggling with the idea part, but he believes that the brand has released some good campaigns too. "Today many brands are playing in the youth-centric space, so Pepsi will have to come with something, which is out of the box to beat them," says Khazanchi.
Read our entire coverage on Pepsi
Can 'Pepsi thi, pee gaya', become the popular lingo in the culture like 'Yeh Dil Maange More' and others? Khazanchi is doubtful. He says, "The lines like 'Nothing Official About It' or 'Yeh Dil Maange more' were anecdotes from life and the new punchline is more product oriented."
Source: http://www.adageindia.in/marketing/cmo-strategy/can-pepsi-get-its-ad-mojo-back-in-india/articleshow/49363620.cms
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