Effective advertising is, almost always, persuasive advertising. While not all advertising seeks to persuade, in a competitive situation, those who best persuade are those most likely to win. (O’Shaughnessy) The advertisement strategy for Pepsi Cola has done a great deal of work to make it an all-time favorite. I feel like they use persuasion by making the consumer think that if they drink Pepsi, they will be youthful. However, in my opinion, the best strategies that they use are celebrity endorsements and slogans. They use the most famous celebrities, Beyonce Knowles, Ray Charles and the Uh-huh Girls (which I think we can all remember from growing up), Britney Spears, Lionel Richie, Bob Dole, and my personal favorite, Michael Jackson. And that is just naming a few. They also use very memorable slogans such as “Gotta Have It”, “Choice of a New Generation”, and “Nothing Else is Pepsi”. As I was trying to decide which commercials to analyze, it was a trip down memory lane. There are just so many Pepsi commercials that stand out to me. I finally chose to analyze the Pepsi “Gladiator” commercial, and Britney Spears’ “Joy of Pepsi” commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in 2001. The Pepsi “Gladiator” commercial was inspired by gladiator fight which used to take place in the Roman Empire. These fights were typically against animals, criminals, and other gladiators, for the people’s entertainment. Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles, and Pink are gladiators in this commercial that refuse to fight each other and stand for peace against their ruler, Enrique Inglesias. The use of these four celebrities alone makes the commercial appealing, because most people are familiar with them. All four of these celebrities are all extremely attractive, which attracts viewers of the opposite sex. The girls come out, and instead of fighting, they throw their weapons down and start interacting with the crowd by
Cited: Persuasion in Advertising, John O’Shaughnessy 2004 1st edition ebook Sirpepsi.com/pepsi11.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Hp1l5s7hM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fugLhNbwoY