Coca-Cola’s recent advertising via WPP Open X has won many plaudits, now historic rival Pepsi is entering the fray with ‘Thirsty for More’ which, on the surface, is unlikely to appeal as much to advertising purists.
So we have lots of bright young things wasting their time only to be told, in the final frames by David Beckham, no less, that spending time with Pepsi is never wasted. To a re-imagined ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’ sung by Siena – with a 37-piece orchestra in Abbey Road and even deploying John Lennon’s old microphone, it’s claimed. Agency is Sweden’s Springtime.
Pepsico is actually a bigger company than Coke thanks to its snack brands. Coke is the fizzy market leader but Pepsi hangs in there, some would say despite its ads. Ad Contrarian Bob Hoffman is no fan, once describing its efforts as ‘amateur hour.’
For years Pepsi used to riff off Coke with its ‘taste test’ ads, breaking some marketing rules by name-checking a rival brand. It’s what British supermarkets have been doing for years, saying they match 100 Aldi prices. So why not go to Aldi?
This one from Pepsi? You suspect there’s a decent campaign in there somewhere – but not here. More serious time wasters required perhaps.
The music’s good though although quite how Edith Piaf matches Pepsi we’ll leave to you. As for DB, when you’re a bit short of an idea who else do you turn to?
MAA creative scale: 4.
