Hasta La Creative!

Last September, BBDO New York launched its first spot for Pepsi since 2008, when the brand shifted lead creative duties from BBDO to TBWAChiatDay, ending a fifty year relationship with the agency.

That spot, starring Marshawn Lynch, essentially took one joke and ran with it and, unfortunately, the agency’s latest campaign runs into a similar problem with an approach playing on the idea of breaking out a Pepsi for a celebration with comparisons between everyday accomplishments and NFL players scoring touchdowns.

“Checkers” shows a man name Rico getting in a triple-jump on Mr. Sanchez in a game of checkers. Rico imagines that it must be like what Odell Beckham, Jr. feels like when he scores a game-winning touchdown. The spot then plays on the idea, with Beckham imagining the reverse while in the endzone.

The spot will make its broadcast debut tonight when the New York Giants face off against Minnesota Vikings for Monday Night Football. Another spot starring Beckham will appear as part of the campaign later this month.

“Phone Number,” which debuted last month, applied the same formula to Antonio Brown and a college student finally getting the number of a classmate he likes.

Whatever humor there is in the premise wears out its welcome by the end of the first spot, making the recent effort feel like a missed opportunity to shake things up. That’s especially disappointing coming on the heels of a pair of solid FedEx spots from the agency. Hopefully BBDO New York can do that going forward as the “Break Out the Pepsi” tagline leaves plenty of room to explore new directions.

Credits:
Agency: BBDO New York
Client: PepsiCo
Spot: Checkers

Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Director: Lauren Connolly
Creative Director: Monty Pera
Creative Director: Don Marshall Wilhelmi
Associate Creative Art Director: Todd Rone Parker
Associate Creative Copy Director: Dan Kelly
Group Executive Producer: Julian Katz
Executive Producer: Matt Nowak
Business Manager: Paul Cisco
Senior Account Director: Ladd Martin
Account Director: Lauren Munilla
Account Executive: Cornelia Madsen
Planning Director: Chris Cummings
Engagement Planning Director: Yin Chung

Production Company: World War Seven
Director: David Shafei
Director of Photography: Bryan Newman
Executive Producer: Josh Ferrazzano
Producer: Bo Clancey
Production Supervisor: Michael Mitchell

Edit House: Fluid
Editor: John Piccolo
Assistant Editor: Evan Johnston
Executive Producer: Laura Relovsky
Senior Producer: Valerie Iorio

Flame/VFX: Chris Davis
Flame Assistant: Cliff Moller
Colorist: Stephen Picano

Audio: Mr. Bronx
Audio Engineer: Eric Hoffman
Producer: Claudia Gaspar

Motive launched a new campaign for Pepsi entitled “But Only with Pepsi,” which mocks two Coca-Cola marketing devices: the brand’s polar bear mascot and “Share a Coke with…” name on a bottle packaging. Two new 15-second spots bring the take-downs while hyping Pepsi’s summer promotion offering consumers the chance to win concert tickets.

Both ads open with a voiceover announcing, “This summer you can win tickets every hour to concerts of your choice” as two friends each buy a soda from a vending machine, one a Pepsi and the other a Coke, before the voiceover adds, “…but only with Pepsi.” In the ad with the more better takedown, a girl turns to her friend and says, “At least your name’s on the bottle,” to which she replies, “Do I look like a Larry to you?” It’s a succinct yet effective criticism of the name on a bottle stunt, emphasizing its randomness. A second spot sees a guy reassure his friend, “You still got the polar bear.” The spots promote the Pepsi Pass loyalty program app, which will offer consumers the chance to win tickets to concerts and even the MLB All Star game, as well as dining points at participating restuarants by scanning the barcode on Pepsi products.

“We know that there are few things that grab our fans’ attention as much as seeing our beloved blue and that red next to each other,” Linda Lagos, brand marketing and digital director for Pepsi, told Ad Age. “It’s done well for us in the past, and it’s just something that we know works and that they love to see”

DDB New York launched an ad introducing a new line of sparkling teas for the Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership, a collaborative venture by PepsiCo and Unilever, which also functions as a continuation of Lipton’s “Be More Tea” campaign.

With carbonated soft drinks in decline increasingly health conscious American consumers, the smaller prepared tea category has seen some growth, something the Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership is trying to cash in on. “People like carbonated beverages, and I think Pepsi is very smart to try to try this sparkling tea product,” John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, told AdAge. “Tea is at the sweet spot of beverages that taste good and have some perceived health and wellness benefits.”

DDB avoids referring to the beverage line as “carbonated” (presumably due to consumers associating that word with unhealthy beverages) instead repeatedly using the terms “tiny bubbles” (Did somebody say “Tiny Bubbles?”) and “sparkling” in the ad. Bubbles are shown lifting people up as they enjoy the product, set to a cover of the song “Tiny Bubbles” by American Authors. Linda Bethea, senior director of marketing at Pepsi Lipton Partnership, told AdAge that one goal of the campaign is to create more “more tea-drinking occasions with the product, such as in the mid-afternoon.”

“We know consumers are reducing their consumption of soda,” she told the publication. “And as they do, they are coming to categories like tea and water.”

Comedian Craig Robinson stars in agency The Brooklyn Brothers’ latest efforts for Pepsi’s “Hyped for Halftime” campaign, “Headin’ to Halftime,” a collaboration with Comedy Central.

The series (comprising three online spots) sees Robinson getting his band, The Nasty Delicious, together to play the Super Bowl Half Time show (a lifelong dream) with some help from Robinson’s fairy godmother. In “The Nasty What Now?” Robinson’s fairy godmother is introduced and we learn that The Nasty Delicious will be headed to Arizona. The group is actually Robinson’s band in real life, but in reality, of course, Katy Perry will be headlining the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. While it’s possible the Nasty Delicious could make a brief cameo before Perry’s performance, the band will be definitely be playing the night before at Comedy Central’s Key & Peele’s Super Bowl Comedy Special.

The second ad sees Robinson and his magic companion getting the band back together (they’ve gone on to some pretty important jobs). At over three minutes long it tends to drag along a part of the story that really should have been handled more quickly. Part three, meanwhile, sees Robinson attempt to get The Nasty Delicious’ groove back. The latest effort takes “Hyped for Halftime” to new levels of goofiness as the band finally performs, while working in something of a surprise ending.

Arby’s wants you—and Pepsi—to know it’s really sorry that it forgot to feature the soft drink in two of its own ads this year.

The roast beef chain’s deal with the soda brand requires Arby’s to promote the drink in its own advertising. But by the time Pepsi (politely) reminded the fast food restaurant’s executives earlier this fall, Arby’s had already finished all of the year’s creative, reports The Wall Street Journal.

So, Arby’s and agency Fallon made this awesomely simple, self-referential spot, owning up to the mistake with a close-up of a sweaty pint of Pepsi and a voiceover from actor Ving Rhames feigning humbled indignation. The ad reportedly will only air in Minneapolis, New York and Los Angeles.

“We love you, Pepsi,” notes the clip’s YouTube summary. “You’re like a meat to us.”

It’s another gem from a growing vein of meta ads that poke fun at the marketing process, peeling back the curtain and inviting savvy consumers to take part in the joke. Newcastle Brown Ale has proven itself expert at this, and Norwegian bank Nordnet’s new ads make for a strong addition to the genre, as well.

Refreshing as the straight-talk may seem, though, it was all done with Pepsi’s blessing. Plus, odds are good that any Pepsi you order at Arby’s is going to come in a paper cup. 

Se depender da publicidade, esperar ônibus pode ser tudo, menos entediante. Os pontos de transporte público tem sido alvo preferencial de diversas pegadinhas recentemente.

A mais nova vem da Pepsi MAX, que realizou a invasão alienígena, robôs gigantes e toda sorte apocalíptica para quem calmamente aguardava no ponto, batizado de “Unbelievable”, seguindo a assinatura do refrigerante.

Não é a primeira vez que a marca brinca com os viajantes. No ano passado, o mágico Dynamo fez um show de ilusionismo com os ônibus de Londres.

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No intervalo do Oscar, no próximo domingo, a Pepsi vai apresentar suas mini-latas com um comercial que faz referência a diversas frases famosas do cinema.

Um assistente de produção precisa entregar o refrigerante para o ator Cuba Gooding Jr – não que ele mereça, considerando o tanto de filmes ruins que anda fazendo – e percorre um estúdio em que todo o elenco só se comunica através de sentenças clássicas de Hollywood.

A campanha assina com “Little Can. Epic Satisfaction.”, e a estratégia da Pepsi é apelar para o emocional, e não para a contagem de calorias, que é o comum para esse tipo de produto miniatura.

Criação da Mekanism.

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A Pepsi é a principal patrocinadora da NFL e, pela segunda vez consecutiva, e a responsável pelo show do intervalo (não aquele da rede Globo) com apresentação de Bruno Mars.

Em um comercial de aquecimento, que será veiculado antes do halftime, mãos gigantes tratam diversos marcos de New York e New Jersey como instrumentos musicais.

A criação é da Mekanism.

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Super Bowl halftime sponsor Pepsi decided to get an early start on Sunday night when the gridiron met the Grammys for an NFL-style extravaganza featuring the musical stylings of football stars.

"You music artists, you're always giving football the best halftime shows," Deion Sanders announces to a faux Grammy crowd. "So tonight, football is paying music back." The result, from agency Scratch, is about as over-the-top and occasionally cringeworthy as you might expect, with performances from Terry Bradshaw, Shannon Sharpe, Mike Ditka and more.

Maybe we'll get lucky and this Sunday's halftime show, featuring Bruno Mars, will pack all of its anticipated insanity into a mere two-and-a-half minutes as well.

Pepsi is expected to air a single 30-second spot, created by ad agency Mekanism, during the Super Bowl broadcast.

Agora é pra valer: Denver Broncos e Seattle Seahawks serão as grandes estrelas do Super Bowl 48. Enquanto os dois times se enfrentam dentro de campo, diversas marcas estarão disputando a atenção do público. De certa maneira, a Pepsi costuma sair um pouco na frente, já que tem a vantagem de ser a patrocinadora oficial do show do intervalo. Mas, como foi que surgiu a ideia de se fazer uma pausa durante o jogo?

A resposta vem em um comercial assinado pela BBDO, que resolveu criar uma fábula para explicar como aconteceu o primeiro intervalo durante uma partida de futebol americano, e como a marca de refrigerante já estava presente desde então. Daí fica fácil associar a Pepsi ao intervalo do Super Bowl.

A trilha sonora do filme é Locked Out Of Heaven, do cantor Bruno Mars – atração do show do intervalo este ano.

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