Pepsi and its celebrities glom on to Obama
It's inevitable, considering President-Elect Obama's approval rating is hovering at 70 percent, that marketers want in on the action. Pepsi is pulling out all the stops. It's combining its newfound Obamaphilia with its longtime obsession with celebrity in a series of "Dear Mr. President" videos. Deep thinkers like Desperate Housewives hottie Eva Longoria, Nascar driver Jeff Gordon and quintessential Obama brand celeb hanger-on Will.i.Am are featured in the call for submissions. They're promising an "open letter" video montage from Americans to Obama, courtesy of the soda giant. (Let's hope Obama not only doesn't heed calls to Twitter while president but also skips watching user-generated ads.) R/GA created the videos. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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January 16, 2009 in Barack Obama, Morrissey, Pepsi | Permalink |
Comments
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Nothing like alienating half your customer base.
Posted by: Mike Smock | Jan 17, 2009 9:23:53 PM
This video leaves me uncomfortable. Bismark once remarked that to maintain power in the modern republican-era all a governing elite had to do was provide the _illusion_ of democratic participation.
This video seems to be an invitation to do just that: to _join_ in the illusion of participating.
Does any one of the celebrities invite eligible viewers interested in politics and public office to apply for near-unlimited funds to pay for a campaign for public office? Till that happens I can't take these "feel good" videos seriously. Are the celebrities even aware of the producer's hidden agenda? (And don't get me wrong I voted Obama! Better than the alternative, I suppose.)
Thanks but no thanks.
Posted by: socrates | Jan 17, 2009 9:35:50 PM
When all that's on tap is Pepsi, I drink water.
Posted by: Edward O'Meara | Jan 18, 2009 2:42:21 PM
Coke's pretty smart. Nice counter by doing a taste test with Obama to find out whether he prefers Coke or Pepsi.
Posted by: Ron Cutsen | Jan 18, 2009 6:55:46 PM
Pretty funny image written back to Pepsi on this blog.
http://advertisingfreelance.blogspot.com/2009/01/pepsis-inauguration-tie-in-or-out.html
Posted by: Joel | Jan 20, 2009 2:35:21 PM
This is not an opportunity. Pepsi has really gone over the line with this one.
Posted by: D | Jan 20, 2009 2:45:48 PM
The online display ad helped gather 700+ total video submissions that generated 4 million views and 100,000 text submissions in a little over a week, making Pepsi the #1 sponsored channel on YouTube. Millions more were exposed to campaign by the heavy press coverage. I think at every level it can be considered a successful campaign for Pepsi.
@dotjohn
Posted by: John Haake | Apr 30, 2009 1:31:41 PM
