New Pepsi ad shouldn't work - but it does

Frankly, I've never had a problem holding any sort of bottle or can. So really, what a dumb feature to promote.

Not really. What makes this commercial work is that the easy-grip bottle has got nothing to do with the attempt to swing people over to Pepsi. It is obvious that Pepsi marketers don't see the bottle design as being any sort of USP. But, they did see the potential for making an attention-grabbing commercial out of the concept.

This is something that not enough companies think of, in my opinion. Using even the most vague differentiation. The first objective of any television commercial in this cluttered, distracting consumer environment is to get the attention of the viewer and the second is to hold that attention all the way through to the end.

No television commercial is worth a row of beans if it cannot achieve these two objectives.

Refreshing

But, whether it does the job for which it was intended or not, this ad is certainly refreshing in terms of some great creativity in a TV advertising world that has become boring and mundane.

Its the sort of ad that will get people talking about advertising at the dinner table again - just like they used to a decade or so ago.

Those scenes on the skyscraper so high above the ground are breathtaking and I can imagine they have millions of viewers not only sitting on the edge of their seats but sitting a few centimetres higher than normal as their sphincter muscles tighten up like agitated sea anemones.

Beckham

But, it isn't the skyscraper scene that initially gets the attention of the viewer. It's David Beckham. Nothing new, surely? After all, we have seen Beckham shaving away on the latest Gillette commercial for months now.

The difference, however, is that in the Pepsi ad, Beckham makes the South African connection by welcoming Pepsi back to South Africa. That's what makes this commercial so special, even if Beckham managed to turn what should have been an exciting one-liner into something that sounded like a call to the police to say that a bus had run over his soccer ball.

But, there's no doubt that any sort of testimonial from Beckham will get the attention of millions of South Africans slap bang in the Pepsi target market. After that, the sheer breathtaking cinematography and pristine production values of the skyscraper scenes, strained sphincter muscles and all, will almost certainly stir enough positive emotion within the viewer to make Pepsi an instant feel-good brand.

It might still fail

This commercial does its job superbly but what might just make it fail in its mission is that it doesn't seem to have any sort of back-up. I have looked in vain at my local café and supermarket and haven't seen any sort of Pepsi hype at all.

Maybe it coming later but it better come soon if this campaign is to succeed because television advertising on its own can't do anything unless it has some sort of support instore.

This is an excellent example of advertising at its best and proves beyond a doubt that television advertising does not need to employ shock tactics or be controversial in order to make an impact.