Pepsi Generation: Transforming the World of Advertisement
I was a pre-teen enduring a boring car ride through the country when my father decided to turn on the radio. A wild beat soared through the air and graced my lucky ears. An intense rhythm followed the intro with a chorus, but it was the solo exotic voice that I remember most. Michael Jackson’s voice filled the speakers and instantly captured my attention. He was singing the song Smooth Criminal, and my obsession began. I googled everything I could about him, and that is how I discovered the Pepsi Generation commercial. It takes place in the clean part of a rundown city, specifically by Faye’s Luncheonette. A few Kids are shown dancing outside, and then the Jackson Five shows up! A little boy who is a Michael Jackson Jr. runs into his future self, and they all start dancing. The commercial was a hit! It convinced many around the world to invest in this product. Michael partnered with Pepsi several times, but Pepsi Generation seemed to be their most inspirational commercial. The 1984 ad did its best to advertise not only its product but equality too. Overall, this commercial contains a gentle way of advertising, a voice for equality, and a detailed set that keeps the product off the shelves!
In the beginning, the advertisement highlights a handful of the public’s favorite things: Michael Jackson, youth, and soda. By using those three key combinations, Pepsi subtly coaxes the viewers to buy its product. To make things even better, the creator of Fritos, Cheetos, and other chip brands merged with Pepsi-Cola to form PepsiCo, and it opened a whole new world of chances to mix those ingredients. The creation of jingles and the partnership with celebrities were two of the main opportunities that the collab provided. Of course, jingles were catchy and represented the company well, but they were not persuasive enough without the superstar’s assistance. The following quote from a Pepsi article explains which celebrities partnered and assisted the company, “Day 1 signed the biggest celebrities of the day as endorsers, from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Tropicana to Madonna and Michael Jackson for Pepsi” (Klara). With PepsiCo striking deals with notorious celebs, who could resist the product? Pepsi’s strategy enticed people all over the world. Since its advertisements are kid-friendly and family-appropriate, more customers purchase its product. Pepsi Generation and its message of youth brought in more clients because families felt comfortable watching the advertisements.
Pepsi Generation raised the competition for advertisement beyond reachable. However, the coke and Pepsi war was not the only war raging in the 1980s racism was raging too. Luckily, Pepsi’s partnership with Michael Jackson had something to do about that. Of course, the company was not allowed to speak of racial problems, but it did hint toward it by using symbolic meanings. The symbols in Pepsi Generation point out that all lives matter by including everyone like the Young, old, popular, and unpopular. The advertisement also shows each actor’s style with pride. Many believe that Pepsi should have left social issues out of their advertisements, c cm but others praise Pepsi for taking a step to attempt to bring everyone together. If music videos, Tv shows, and movies can voice their political opinions through symbols and metaphorical meanings, why can’t Pepsi? Big ambassadors that prioritize something above their product should feel free to share their opinions, and perhaps the public would appreciate it more. It is good to know that Pepsi has an open mind, but how did the partnership with the King of Pop develop? Michael’s managers approached the CEO of Entertainment Marketing and Communications International with the idea of partnering Jackson with a major brand. The CEO proposed a deal to Coca-Cola first but stated that they lacked the leap of faith and turned Michael down. “They gave it serious consideration yet couldn’t make that leap of faith,” Coleman says. “They saw anything they would do with Michael as a more targeted, ethnic campaign.” However, Pepsi was searching for a big idea to launch their youth campaign, and Michael was the prime choice. “The goal was to make Pepsi look young, and Coke look old, and Michael Jackson was, in fact, the choice of that generation — he was already the King of Pop, even though he hadn’t declared it,” Coleman says. Since Pepsi chose Michael and his brothers, it shows that the company is involved with the world. It also proves that Pepsi listens and knows what the public wants. Jackson was a great representation of youth, but he was also a great representation of ethnic equality. MJ and his miniature self danced their way into the society’s heart, and for a minute, they paused racial hate. Although Coca-Cola was afraid of his ethnicity and thought it was a hazard to the advertisement, Pepsi embraced it and combined it with his youth to make it more welcomed in society. But the differences in race were not the only things included. Various backgrounds also were used in Pepsi’s commercials. To reach the hearts of many fans, they shot the ad in an old city street. After watching the people connect and have fun, a city street seems like a great place to drink such a refreshing product.
At first, it does not look like much, but more is exposed as the commercial continues. The ad introduced the viewers to a downtown city street, but this street is more vivid than any other. It also replaced drug dealers and homeless people with kids and pop stars. Showing the city from a different perspective created a positive outcome for consumers. Pepsi introduced real-life to kids, but instead of being harshly realistic, it gently introduced how kids of that time should act. Children playing, dancing, and beatboxing is a grand way of starting a marketing ad. Why would Pepsi make this city seem bright and friendly? Because it is reaching out to the younger audience by showing them where its products can be located. This simple city street plays a major role in PepsiCo’s industrial success because it highlights that their soda is for any age and can be found easily.
In conclusion, it is difficult to dislike this commercial. Pepsi Generation changed the platform for advertising, but it also changed its consumers. The kids that performed with the King of Pop will remember that forever. There is a chance that it encouraged them to be kinder, which implies that the company was successful in creating a new generation. Perhaps the company’s bold risk of accepting various ethnicities in the advertisement should be used as a guide. Imagine if each commercial was as friendly and warm as Pepsi Generation. No one would have a problem buying or selling. Maybe the viewers should encourage other companies to follow Pepsi. It would make ads meaningful and increase sales. Overall, an advertisement with an insightful purpose will most likely persuade consumers better than an ordinary ad that is just trying to sell a product.
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