Not so ''Larger than Life''. Review on Pepsi

During Cricket World Cup 2003, two new products were added in Pepsi India’s bandwagon, Pepsi blue/aqua (whatever.. it looked more as kerosene) and Mountain Dew. Fortunately, Pepsi kerosene was a Ltd edition, so was made to be short lived. However, Dew took a birth in India.

Pepsi has a tradition to associate itself with various sports worldwide, ranging from Soccer to Baseball. In India, cricket being the heart of nation, Pepsi follows the suit. But only cricket wasn’t sufficient for PEPSI, so roping in bollywood stars (Amitabh, Shahrukh..Kareena..Saif…Fardeen) as well..who are worshipped in our nation. Over the years, Pepsi saw the transition from ‘Lehar Pepsi aha’.. to ‘Yeh dil maange..more’ to , ‘Pepsi ke liye hum besharam hain’ to its latest ‘Ye pyaas hai badi’.

But always , Underlying theme being ”Beg..Borrow..Steal, We can go to any extent, for our PEPSI”

Due to choclatey looks of its brand ambassadors and its sweet taste, Pepsi has been assaulted by Coke brands time and again.

With Amir’s “Thanda matlab coca cola” promo , attracting desi junta.

Salman and Akshion kumar, flaunting their biceps and doing some stunts for Thumbs up.

Sprite (yeah..its a Coke brand too) coming with its realistic ads of “Sprite bujhaye pyaas..baki sab bakwaas”, making fun of Pepsi’s “Larger than Life” image.

After the failure of Mirinda, Teem and Slice , Pepsi has high hopes with Dew. With its “Do the dew”, “Cheeta bhi peeta hai” and latest ad of Man Vs Ram, Dew has been able to get some attention. Pepsi have brought in cool dudes as the brand ambassador of Mountain dew. Mind you, none of them is star.. they represent young adventure seeking teenager crowd of India. Cool dudes are shown to try their hands at bungee jumping, roller skating, chasing cheetah and taking a Ram head on. It will certainly attract those grown ups who have been cheesed off by Pepsi’s not-so-masculine image.

But still, Pepsi has not been able to hive off its image of “Larger than Life”. Cool dudes of Dew are a symbolic of westernized culture, who are equally fanatic about their wonder drink possessing magical powers. Consumers are getting much aware now and can no longer can be fooled by “Larger than Life” slogan . Its high time now for Pepsi to revamp its image or launch a drink for desi Indians. A drink which is honest and down to earth.