Blog Project #1
Preferably, Pepsi Soda is one of my favorite drinks. Almost everybody all around the world knows what Pepsi is, and has probably tried a Pepsi product at least once in their lifetime, so why is the advertisement of their product so important when everyone already knows if they like the soda or not. Pepsi has had many different advertisement techniques for their commercials on T.V. and uses the slogan “Live For Now” to catch peoples attention but their most popular advertisement technique is using famous celebrities to advertise their brand.
The content of this product and advertisement is Soda, obviously. Pepsi has been around since 1898 and has been a popular brand for as long as I can remember. As said before, Pepsi uses famous actors, singers, and models to advertise their product and make it more appealing to people living normal lives. They think if we see our favorite celebrity drinking Pepsi, we will want to drink it too.
Pepsi commercials that I have encountered have usually been on TV or Youtube ads and have been anywhere from a short 15 seconds to 3 minutes long; if they really want to get the message out there. The first commercial for Pepsi was in the 1950’s - Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMF1l9CAViE. As you can see, MUCH has changed.
For this blog, I will be using Kendall Jenners Pepsi ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ which is 2 minutes and 48 seconds long and aired about a year ago. This ad was spread all across America and was seen everywhere. It got a lot of black lashes and was even removed from Pepsis website. According to Hollywood Reporter, The pulled commercial was the latest example of the white corporate world brazenly borrowing from black culture. Kendall Jenner apologized and said she had nothing to do with the script later on. Even though their message in this commercial was wrong, in my eyes it wasn't attended and definitely got Pepsi much more attention for this certain campaign.
In this certain Pepsi commercial, as you can see in the video I posted, Kendall is in the middle of a photo shoot when she sees a protest going on in the background. She then grabs a Pepsi and shares it with the Police Officers and ends the protest. The ad ends with the words “Live For Now”.
Kendall Jenner is a famous celebrity, apart of the Kardashian family and a modal. She is the centerpiece of this Pepsi Campaign. As said before, Pepsi uses familiar and famous people a lot in their ads to showcase their brand in hopes of people like us desiring it more. I definitely believe that using celebrities to represent a brand helps their ratings and encourages more people to buy their products… It is a very smart technique and Pepsi being the huge brand they are have no problem getting celebrities to do work with them.
This ad definitely has the story-telling aspect incorporated. But of course, many didn’t like the story they were telling and took it the wrong way which was Pepsi’s wrongdoing. Thankfully they apologized and are still going strong with selling their products. For example, this story was about a protest and it being stopped by Kendall sharing a Pepsi with the Police Officer. In many other Pepsi ads, they use the same technique of storytelling such as their We Will Rock You ad feat. Britney Spears, Beyonce, Pink & Enrique Iglesias. This ad shows 3 lady gladiators refusing a fight and drinking Pepsi instead. Their messages are powerful and are all about drinking Pepsi, which identifies peace instead of war.
Pepsi 100% effectively uses their medium/platform to create their ads being the big brand they are, which is why they get so much hate if they do it wrong. People all around the world view their content so they need to be very careful with what they put out there to make sure to revive a positive response.
The meaning of his Pepsi ad commercial, just like every ad they create, was to promote peace.
This particular Pepsi ad is similar to a few ads in some ways but also very new and different. Unlike a lot of commercials recycling ideas and themes of, this ad shows many different cultures and people and had a theme of peace. It also had a storyline incorporated to keep people watching until the end.
The target audience for all Pepsi commercials is almost about everyone. Being the popular and well-known company they are, Pepsi seems to make their commercials appeal to everyone. Whether it be teenagers, everyday Pepsi drinkers, woman, men and everything beyond. They do a great job of getting popular celebrities and creating something interesting. To some, this commercial was offensive but Pepsi is known for creating well-liked commercials in the past to appeal to the general public.
I definitely think this commercial incorporated stereotypes such as racism and when I look at it in a certain way I can see the offensive taken by some. Although I don’t believe that was Pepsi or Kendall's intention it was still in their wrong and they definitely got their punishment.
The Weaknesses:
Sadly, as much as I love Pepsi, there were more weaknesses than there were strengths. Their message was a good idea but they didn't th8ni about exactly what they were putting out there. In my mind, it was rushed and not everyone's likings were out into consideration. When searching "Kendall Pepsi Commercial" the only thing that popped up was negative views.
Sadly, as much as I love Pepsi, there were more weaknesses than there were strengths. Their message was a good idea but they didn't th8ni about exactly what they were putting out there. In my mind, it was rushed and not everyone's likings were out into consideration. When searching "Kendall Pepsi Commercial" the only thing that popped up was negative views.
The Strengths:
The strengths of this campaign were definitely the use of Kendall Jenner. She is a well respected and looked-up-to celebrity and model and was a great decision on Pepsis part. Another strength was the diverse use of people used in the commercial.
Although I don’t believe Pepsi effectively connected with their target audience due to all the backlash, I definitely believe this commercial was memorable, but probably not the way Pepsi was intending. The way Pepsi conducted this commercial makes it memorable. It was viewed as offensive and is still talked about to this day. Of course, it has blown over since a year ago, people definitely remember it and Pepsi lost a lot of respect due to their storyline decisions.
Being such a big company, Pepsi is very active in their use of social media. They have a Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. Having many different types of Pepsi, the company is sure to create different social media pages for lovers of that specific type. For example, on Instagram, Pepsi has a Pepsi MAX page, a Diet Pepsi page and a verified original Pepsi page with 1.3 million followers. They post photos of their brand, models representing their products and update us every so often as well. Their advertisement techniques are superior and they are definitely a brand that is “ON IT!”
On April 6, 2017, AdAge created an article called PEPSI IS PULLING ITS WIDELY MOCKED KENDALL JENNER AD. This article explains the reason behind Pepsi removing its offensive commercial. The article opens with stating: "Pepsi is pulling its Kendall Jenner ad after the spot drew a torrent of criticism, including complaints that the ad was not only clumsily executed but that it co-opted protest movements such as Black Lives Matter for commercial gain.” AdAge’s article shows tweets and quotes from people being offended by the commercial and saying it was the “worst commercial of all time.” Despite its wrongdoing, Pepsi stated they believe it "reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that's an important message to convey.” Based on this ad, and articles written about it, I would’ve probably never had any interest in buying or supporting Pepsi if I had never heard of the brand before. If anything, I would want to know more about what others thought of the unthoughtful ad and wouldn’t recommend others. I wouldn’t say I would “warn” others about this product because I don’t think this ad showed harm in people drinking Pepsi, but I would and did tell people about the ad. It was definitely the weekly gossip but like I said before: it definitely died down after a while.
In conclusion, I learned that many more people than I thought were greatly affected and offended by this Pepsi ad. I also learned that it is important to think about what you are putting out there for millions to see and big brands should be more thoughtful especially if their general audience it the general public.
I never really looked and/or cared what Pepsi or Kendall had to say about their wrongdoings, I only took the offensive side. But after looking closer, I was surprised to see that they were genuinely sorry and didn’t mean to offend anybody and didn’t realize that their storyline was offensive in any way.
In any situation. it is important to know both sides.
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