Pepsi blunder is proof marketers ‘live in a fantasyland disassociated from the real world’
Chasing trends and allowing 'amateurs' to produce your advertising is like giving a 16-year-old a medical marijuana card and the keys to the Lexus, argues Bob Hoffman
Last week’s Pepsi disaster may go down as one of the great advertising debacles of our age. The spot in question only lived for about 24 hours, but it has been hailed by some as the worst commercial in the history of advertising.
This has engendered great joy in certain quarters – including yours truly. The reason for the widespread schadenfreude is that the man behind this travesty – president of the Pepsi beverage group, Brad Jakeman – has been very openly critical of ad agencies.
Jakeman was quoted as saying it was “absolutely baffling” that the large advertising holding companies are not “buying up all of these incredible content” producers.
So Jakeman went ahead with great fanfare and created his own ‘content’ playpen which he modestly named ‘Creators League Studio’. He bills himself as the head of this studio. His ‘studio’ created this monstrosity.
I can’t prove it, but the spot in question has the smell of a Jakeman vanity project all over it. It is the kind of cliché-festooned work that a talent-free amateur playing at creative director might concoct.
This is not to say that agencies can’t produce stinkers – I’ve certainly written my share – but the size of this one coupled with the chest-pounding of the guy in charge makes it particularly amusing.
Bob Hoffman
There are some lessons to be learned from this…
First, allowing amateurs to produce your advertising is like giving a 16-year-old a medical marijuana card and the keys to the Lexus.
Second, trend-chasing is a dangerous business. Pepsi has been doing this for years with nothing to show for it but failure. They have demonstrated no ability to fashion a coherent brand strategy. All they do is jump from one fad to another. Their marketing strategy can be described in two words – ‘whatever’s trending’.
Third, what you say is different from what you communicate. Good marketing people understand this. Bad ones don’t. Pepsi thought they were saying that they’re a hip, sensitive, and concerned brand. What they communicated was that they are shameless, clueless opportunists.
Next, ‘content’ is usually just a pleasanter word for ‘shit’.
Finally, the internet has a mind of its own. Thinking you can outsmart the web and go “viral” is a game for fools. When web maniacs ‘join the conversation’ it is mostly to bury brands, not to praise them.
Pepsi’s blunder is just more proof that many marketers live in a fantasyland that is disassociated from the real world. One might say marketers are from Mars, consumers are from New Jersey… hey, wait a minute…isn’t that the title of a book I wrote…?
How idiots think about marketing
If you’re wondering how a company can get things so wrong, all you have to do is listen to Pepsi’s chief design officer.
Here’s what he had to say two weeks ago: “People, therefore, are different. They behave in a different way with our products and brands. They don’t buy, actually, products anymore, they buy experiences that are meaningful to them, they buy solutions that are realistic, that transcend the product, that go beyond the product, and mostly they buy stories that need to be authentic.”
Yeah, right. Back to Mars, Bozo..
Bob Hoffman has been the CEO of two independent agencies and is the author of the Ad Contrarian blog
How bad is this commercial, if major online publications such as Mumbrella is still talking about this…. and giving free airtime vs paid media placements..
Wasn’t this the main aim by placing a Kardashian into the scenario?
ReplyOMG, the quote at the end. That’s some seriously condescending word vomit.
I buy Coke, because it tastes good in my mouth. I buy Pepsi when they don’t have Coke.
ReplyI buy water when there’s no coke
Replyme too
ReplyYou know why Coke commercials are more effective? Because except when they’re trying to make Coke a weird symbol of Christmas, they generally understand they are selling a beverage and that drinking a beverage is about how it tastes and quenches your thirst.
Leave the social consciousness commercials to the coffee houses and just remind me that drinking your beverage sounds really good right now.
ReplyOh wow. I missed the ad itself and found it to see just how bad it really is. I probably wouldn’t have been terribly offended if it came on while I was zoning out during commercial break and checking my phone, and the song is actually kind of awesome. But man, how tone deaf can a company get? Pepsi isn’t some kind of “movement”. Jesus christ. I expected this from starbucks, not B-grade coke.
ReplyHi Bob, thank you for this article. I fully agree with what you shared on the whole subject matter.
However, I’ve learned that customers do purchase an experience sometimes instead over the product itself.
My question is, how would it be inappropriate to consider selling an experience inadequate? I recall it’s a marketing technique. Thank you.
ReplyAgreed, Azure.
ReplyI quite like the ad. Disclaimer – I’m not the media junkie that others are, other than for politics and stocks…so I didn’t know that it was Kim K or Jenner in the ad: and even if I did, I wouldn’t have been offended by that, not being hip to their status as some sort of pariah.
It’s beautiful young people confronting authority with a bit of whimsy and sugar and caffeine. What’s not to like!
Come on effete taste-nazi’s – get over yourselves. We will never be that beautiful, but IT’s OKAY!
Context? sure – that’s important. But, as Azure said, have some perspective. Content rocks too.
I just have to say… this made no sense. I love comedy, this isn’t it
“First, allowing amateurs to produce your advertising is like giving a 16-year-old a medical marijuana card and the keys to the Lexus.”
My first guess is that you do not use marijuana
ReplyI never buy Pepsi OR Coke or any other brand of cola. Disgusting stuff, and terribly unhealthy
ReplyHave your say