Aug 11
7
Pepsi Co Launches First Pepsi Ad Campaign in Three Years
After sinking to #3 behind Coke and Diet Coke, Pepsi’s flagship product is finally going to be fighting back with fresh advertising.
The new ad campaigns, which will launch this summer, are the most visible sign that Pepsi is going to throw weight into its flagship brand. Advertising spend for regularly Pepsi and Diet Pepsi combined totaled $153.3 million during 2010, compared to $252.6 million for Coca-Cola’s top two soda brands. Advertising dollars that would normally be spent on Pepsi products were shuffled into supporting healthier fare.
Since CEO Indra Nooyi took over five years ago, the marketing and advertising teams have turned its attention to juice, oatmeal, Gatorade and other “good for you” choices. In addition, PepsiCo made major investments requiring majority share in a few of their key “good for you” manufacturers. Although the sales figures for these products have doubled projected revenue through the year 2020, it’s been at the expense of the soda product. This left media buyers and industry insiders doubtful about Nooyi’s ability to support the biggest brand.
All that is about to change with Pepsi’s new ad campaign “Summer Time is Pepsi Time.” PepsiCo reports that it will spend about 30% more this year on TV advertising. In addition to new commercials and ad campaigns, Pepsi will sponsor Simon Cowell’s new show “X Factor” with a $60 million deal starting in the fall. With the changes in advertising direction and money dedicated to the flagship brand, bottlers, media buyers and others that rely on Pepsi products are looking forward to a brighter future.
