The makers of Pepsi-Cola are banking on what they claim is a cult following for their Crystal Pepsi product. This product flopped after a year in the early 1990s but is coming back to supermarket shelves. Distribution started rolling across the USA on August 8, accompanied by a tsunami of advertising and social media promotion.
But the SumOfUs activist initiative has taken some of the fizz out of the campaign by releasing a spoof commercial that relates unpleasant facts behind the making of Pepsi drinks.
Following the well trodden, well worn path of so many TV ads that are aimed at a young audience, the spoof shows a pair of young lads drooling as an attractive young woman pulls up in a red convertible. Dressed in cut-off shorts and a tight fitting vest, she sashays over to a drinks dispenser, grabs a bottle of Crystal, and takes a long, refreshing glug.
So far so good, if more than a little clichéd. But then it goes off message.
The refreshing drink turns into a noxious syrup that coats the woman’s face. The 50s doo-wop soundtrack turns into the sound of chainsaws and the boys turn away in horror. A series of captions appears:
- PepsiCo buys over 470,000 tons of palm oil per year.
- PepsiCo’s products are driving rainforests to destruction.
- PepsiCo’s products are driving the exploitation of workers in Indonesia.
- PepsiCo’s products are threatening the habitat of endangered animals.
- Tell PepsiCo to commit to using only truly responsible palm oil now.
The commercial ends with an exhortation to sign a petition.
It’s a strategy that has worked well in the past to pressure groups. In 2008, Dove beauty products created a memorable, multi-award winning commercial that focused on women’s media-distorted perceptions of themselves, under the banner of the “campaign for real beauty.”
Questioning the motivation behind that commercial, the environmental group Greenpeace produced an ad in response, which focused on the devastation caused by the manufacture of Dove products. It ended with the line “talk to Dove before it’s too late.”
As a result, Unilever, the makers of Dove, were forced to make genuine environmental concessions and changes to their methods.
In just the first two days, the SumOfUs ad on their Facebook page has achieved over 2,000 shares. It may have a similar effect.
You can watch the ad here.
