Check out this new ad campaign from Pepsi, highlighting their one-calorie PepsiMax beverage. (Click the images for a larger view.)
“One very lonely calorie.”
I’ve always thought there was too little suicide imagery in advertising today, haven’t you?
I don’t think I’m too conservative when it comes to things like this, but even I think this is in very poor taste.
If the Motrin Moms can go crazy over a relatively tame ad, I wonder what the outcry will be over something like this?
What do you think of the campaign?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Yea, thats absolutely horrible and unoriginal, anyway. That doesnt make me want to drinnk Pepsi and Pepsi is my fav soda.
That’s a real ad campaign? That’s horrible. VERY poor taste, in my opinion.
I took a bunch of marketing classes in college and one thing that I heard a lot was that it doesn’t matter how innovative or creative or catchy your ad is, if it leaves the consumer with a negative impression, the ad will backfire. That negative feeling will be associated with the product.
This one definitely does that.
Honestly, it’s kind of clever. I can see them weighing poor taste against an idea that really gets the point across in a fairly inventive way.
That being said, wow. What truly, incredibly poor taste. Bad Pepsi. Sometimes you just have to drop your clever idea in favor of keeping your audience un-alienated.
But what IS the point? You should be drinking Pepsi Max because…? Suicide (even when represented in a semi-playful, Ren & Stimpy manner) is not something I want to be thinking about when drinking my soda. And what a horrible time of year to launch this campaign, when the rate of suicides spikes (though I am not googling to double check that; full disclosure).
I don’t think suicide should be a taboo topic in general, but surely there’s a list of topics companies SHOULDN’T exploit when trying to sell a product. I’ll add rape, domestic violence, hate crimes, and genocide to the list.
Finally, I guess the best question is: Why is Big Cola wasting money on new product launches (and attendant marketing campaigns) that never ever in a million years go anywhere?
Pepsi has never been known for good taste. Or tasting good, for that matter.
Seriously? This is sick, not funny, and doesn’t endear me to their product…at…all.
I don’t really have an issue with it however it is a tad bit over the top. Pepsi though is famous for this. Pepsi and Burger King. Ever notice that those two are always ripping on Coke and McDonalds? They always run ads that just make fun of or tear down Coke and McDonalds. They never just emphaize the positive. Coke and McDonalds talk about themselves.
shocked
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