New & exciting pepsi from across the globe | Marketing Mag

Pepsi celebrates 50 years of hip hop with B.I.G partnership

Ned Lupson — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 06:26:34 +0000

Pepsi is teasing a new campaign for the 50th anniversary of hip hop’s birth in New York City that focuses on a titan of both genre and metropolis alike: The Notorious B.I.G.

Although Christopher Wallace (also known as Biggie) died in 1997, his legacy as an icon of hip hop continues to evolve as Pepsi strikes up another partnership with his estate. A fresh Instagram spot captures his distinctive personality and connection to the brand, returning to a Pepsi-themed freestyle recording by the rapper.

“We’ve been working with Pepsi to commemorate my son’s artistry and connect his music with the sounds and artists of today. We hope fans will enjoy it as much as we do,” says his mother Voletta Wallace.

Limited edition Pepsi MAX cans will be released and major global cities are set to be decorated by new B.I.G-themed street art pieces, working with the Christopher Wallace estate to raise his profile with younger audiences.

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A post shared by Pepsi (@pepsiglobal)

Returning to an unearthed B.I.G recording

In 2020, Pepsi released a freestyling animation that featured the highly-marketable recording for the first time, in honour of Wallace being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Pepsi marketing team felt this anniversary was the right time to build on that release.

“We are always keeping a finger on the pulse of culture while listening to music fans’ preferred choices, and in the lead up to this momentous cultural occasion, they told us they had Biggie on repeat,” says Gustavo Reyna, senior director global marketing at PepsiCo.

“In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of hip hop, an art form that has touched every corner of the world and evolved into one of the most significant drivers of popular culture, Pepsi is honoured to partner with The Notorious B.I.G. Estate to bring this unique encore of Biggie’s art and talent to a whole new generation of music fans in never-before-seen ways.”

Read about Pepsi’s relationship with the advertising disclaimer here.

Pepsi and Milk? – Lindsay Lohan shows consumers a new way to drink Pepsi

Benay Ozdemir — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 02:35:06 +0000

Pepsi has launched a new campaign that is encouraging its customers to try mixing milk with Pepsi.

That’s right, under the hashtag #PilkandCookies and for those who may not know what that is – it is Pepsi and milk combined bringing in the festive season with a new taste. Those who want to destroy their taste buds are in it to win it! The campaign features an online challenge that ends on Christmas Day where participants will have the opportunity to win cash.

Though mixing interesting combinations isn’t a first. Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, Tood Kaplan, spoke about the strange concoction. “Combining Pepsi and milk has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans.”

TikTok trends have been dominating in creating a mix of “dirty soda”, combination soda with syrup and cream. As Pepsi itches to remain relevant in social media, the drink company targets young consumers in their campaigns.

Kaplan says, “With the rise of the ‘dirty soda’ trend on TikTok and throughout the country, we thought Pilk and Cookies would be a great way to unapologetically celebrate the holidays.”

Without the iconic Lindsay Lohan, would the campaign even be relevant? As the beverage giant tries to encourage consumers to enjoy the drink in a new way. Lohan tweets, “Feeling nice…or naughty? @Pepsi, let’s make #PilkandCookies happen.

Feeling nice…or naughty? @Pepsi, let’s make #PilkandCookies happen + + #PepsiPartner pic.twitter.com/1QMb1spgqm

— Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) December 1, 2022

The mean girls vibe is definitely back, as Lohan is dressed in a cute Santa-inspired outfit, celebrating the festive season with Pilk.

The history of Pilk

Pepsi describes Pilk as “delicious and must-have drink that combines the crispness of Pepsi with the subtly sweet and creamy taste of milk, traditionally topped with creamer, and it pairs perfectly with cookies.”

However, Pilk has been around for a while, and dates back to 2020. A twitter user, @scubadivingzoo posted a photo with the drink captioned as “Y’all want a glass of pilk.” And of course, with the tweet going viral, it reached TikTok.

@drewgardner46 Pilk in the dining hall #pilk #menace #theellenshow #food #rap #fortnite #milk #pepsi #cratechallenge #fypシ @jeremy7295 ♬ original sound – Tik Toker

‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?’ – when Pepsi was sued and advertising changed forever

Benay Ozdemir — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 05:04:56 +0000

Netflix’s new documentary, ‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet’, is the story of when John Leonard sued Pepsi for false advertising, but it turned around and backfired for him. It also shaped advertising laws forever.

In 1995, Leonard was a 20-year-old student near Seattle in the United States, where he was coaching little league football and dreaming of having a successful business. But, as a courageous and adventurous young man, a commercial from Pepsi changed the course of his life. Leonard was set to win a military-grade Harrier jet for an insane amount of Pepsi Points.

As the 90s were all about the cola wars, and in a bid to steer Gen Xers to choose Pepsi over Coca-Cola, the brand introduced Pepsi Points, which could be redeemed for Pepsi merch. Pepsi Points suddenly appeared everywhere, getting customers to drink the beverage religiously.

What could Pepsi Points buy?

In order to understand the difficulty of buying merchandise with points, basic maths needs to be applied. The amount of points a customer would receive includes:

A fountain drink = one point
Two-litre bottle = two points
12 pack = five points

After months of saving for points (similar to Qantas Frequent Flyer members) customers would be able to buy the following:

Baseball caps = 60 points
T-shirts = 80 points
Mountain bikes = thousands
And the prize that took Leonard to court, a military grade Harrier jet = a whopping 7,000,000 points

The commercial did not include any fine print, disclaimer or legal notice telling viewers it was a joke.

“I started thinking, geez, how could you actually make this work,” Leonard said in the Netflix series.

“But I can’t make it happen. And I have had to find a crazy partner in the deal. And luckily, I happen to know somebody that fit the bill.”

But Leonard was on a mission to get the jet, and rang up his friend Todd Hoffman and pitched his idea, of which he was immediately interested to be a part.

How was it possible?

Leonard was set to pay for numerous warehouses, trucks and drivers to purchase the millions of Pepsi bottles needed to get the seven million points. But the estimated cost would have exceeded over $3.4 million – this set Leonard and Hoffman back to planning. This led Leonard to find a loophole in the fine print, that Pepsi Points could be purchased for ten cents a piece. This fueld their plans and a $700,008.50 cheque – ready to win the top prize.

But weeks after sending the cheque to the Pepsi headquarters, Pepsi responded saying the inclusion of the Harrier jet in the commercial was nothing more than a joke. But neither Leonard nor Hoffman wanted to take no as an answer. They recruited a lawyer, Larry Schantz to send a letter demanding Pepsi to stick with their arrangement.

The response by Pepsi

The brand counter-responded to the letter by filing a lawsuit against Leonard and Hoffman, asking the court for a declaratory judgement stating that it had no obligation to provide them with a Harrier jet.

However, Schantz filed a countersuit arguing that Pepsi was obligated to produce the jet, as there was no fine print or disclaimers in their commercial.

Shortly after this, Pepsi decided to change the ad twice. The first time they changed the number of points to win the jet from 7,000,000 to 700,000,000 and the second time they followed the number with a “Just Kidding”.

Soon after, Pepsi offered Leonard and Hoffman a settlement of $750,000, but Leonard refused as he was still on a mission to claim the jet.

“Now, sure, [I would have settled], but I still get a kick out of the fact that I had the chutzpah at that time to actually come to that conclusion. Probably wasn’t the smartest decision I’ve ever made in my life,” says Leonard.

Another lawyer, Michael Avenatti, joined the case but ultimately, the judge ruled in favour of Pepsi, saying no reasonable person would think a Harrier jet was attainable by claiming Pepsi reward points.

The duo could not receive their military jet, but they made history as they changed the ways of advertising, with disclaimers now an integral part of many commercials.