Why Pepsi Loves Barack Obama - The All New Issue -- New York Magazine

The New Ad Campaign: Why Pepsi Loves the President

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By Mike Albo
Published Jan 11, 2009

(Photo: Courtesy of Pepsi)

Last fall, Pepsi announced that its namesake brand would no longer be handled in the U.S. by BBDO Worldwide, its ad agency for nearly 50 years. The company would be going to the firm TBWA/Chiat/Day for a radical overhaul. How does one go about rethinking a household brand that’s gone virtually unchanged for half a century? Obama power. Looking to appeal to the newest coveted consumer segment, the Millennials, the company started the Pepsi Optimism Project (POP), a survey of Millennials, those born between 1980 and 1990, regarding their views on optimism. Not surprisingly given the name of the project, Pepsi reports that these consumers feel a strong sense of optimism about their careers and the future of the country. Enter Barack “Hope” Obama. After an initial wave of New Year’s ads, Pepsi is hitching its big branding push to Inauguration Day. Even the new, streamlined logo bears a strong resemblance to the Obama campaign’s sunrise symbol.

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