I used to sit on the 21st floor. Now I am retired

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Pepsi TV?

Not that Pepsi will ever hit the heights of "nothing official about it" campaign, but why deliver such tripe?

Readers, watchers and cold-drink vendors are as clueless as I am on how this ad got made. Tabloid of India had attempted a shot in the dark on what Pepsi TV was. Some conspiracy theorists have mentioned that the ad was actually made by Sprite, just so they could create a spoof. Well, at least then the ad has a point. Because what a well-informed source says is as lame as it can get:
"...whenever you are watching television, you must have the cola in your hand..."

Even with jargon, the reason sounds stupid:
"...“the first-of-its kind occasion-build programme”...“We believe that while this may be slow burn, we are committed to it because it will pay rich dividends, by catalysing consumption behaviour at home. Our exciting Pepsi TV campaign is built exactly on these objectives of driving category growth,”..." (italics are all mine)

While they have only spent 35 lakhs on this, it's all waste. Btw, some have alleged that Akshay Kumar's Thums-Up lightning ad is inspired by TV broadcasting signals of Pepsi TV.

13 Comments:

Blogger Kaps said...

I have my doubts on the Rs. 35 lakh figure. I guess it doesn't include the endorsement fee paid to the film stars.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 8:37:00 AM

 
Blogger dhoomketu said...

Kaps, you have a point there.
Unless the three of them have already been taken on contracts and thus, their fees are not reflected here. I wonder how much Farah Khan (the director) got for this?

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 9:40:00 AM

 
Blogger Selma Mirza said...

Whenever you are watching TV, you must have cola in your hand. But will your weak pepsi-dissolved bones be able to hold up the glass in a few years?! :-)

That ad is so lame. Pepsi is on a self-destructive spree. Imagine a Pepsi-TV ad right after the Kiss/Kick ad. Its almost like they want us to quit Pepsi!

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 10:32:00 AM

 
Blogger dhoomketu said...

Evenstar, welcome to 22nd floor. Bone theory thora far-fetched ho gaya, but nothing compared to SRK playing a youngster in the ad.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 11:12:00 AM

 
Blogger Selma Mirza said...

Hehe, yes it is a little far fetched. I think somebody sent Pepsi a corny email like 'We can't get enough of SRK'. :-O

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 11:24:00 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As far as teaser campaigns go, I think Frooty/i had cracked it with Digen Verma many years back. Though Pepsi's attempt at positioning may have been correct ie. to associate drinking Pepsi with watching Tv and thus occupying an extremely relevant space in a consumer's life, the execution has failed miserably.The rs. 35 lakh, doesn't include the contract fees paid to the stars, it is but a small production budget.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 9:55:00 PM

 
Blogger dhoomketu said...

Rani, I agree.

Thursday, April 20, 2006 3:27:00 AM

 
Blogger maverick said...

abe, since ure fave heroine signed up, pepsi has been churning out the lamest commercials...oh and our least fave actor still studies in college eh? My source says that he auditioned for Haley Joel Osment's role in Sixth Sense but Shyamalan preferred Osment as he was a better actor! ;)

Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:27:00 AM

 
Blogger dhoomketu said...

Maverick, now it's her fault that Pepsi's making bad ads. By the way, the argument was never about acting, it was always about looks.

Thursday, April 20, 2006 10:26:00 PM

 
Blogger Achtlandia said...

What next? Pepsi airlines? Where if u sit with a cola in the flight it becomes a bubbly flight (nothing against kingfisher…lol)? Pepsi apparently thinks that a coffee-cola is ‘kinky’! upar se we have bubbly channels…sprite should start consolidating its market now…cos it’s the only imaginative weapon against channels that people will NOT watch and thanda tadkas that are bland…

Thursday, April 20, 2006 10:30:00 PM

 
Blogger Mr. D said...

Hahahaha, anything I say here will be held against my history.

Thursday, April 20, 2006 11:15:00 PM

 
Blogger dhoomketu said...

Achtlandia, agree with you on principle. Though on the taste bit, I quite dislike Sprite.

Dibyo, yes. History is a tricky customer. But try and move on.

Friday, April 21, 2006 5:45:00 AM

 
Blogger Mr. D said...

Pepsi TV sucks.

Monday, April 24, 2006 11:24:00 PM

 

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