From the ‘never met a bandwagon I wouldn’t jump on’ department. During the last election ‘being in the tank for Obama’ became a clarion call for his opponents. As in ‘the mainstream media is in the tank for Obama’, ‘Hollywood is in the tank for Obama’, etc. etc. Well, not much doubt that Pepsi is in the tank for Obama, at least if their new ads and promotional pieces are any indication. Using the well-discussed Obama logo design as ahm, inspiration, the folks at Pepsi have crowbarred their new logo redesign into promotional artwork that is a complete knock-off of material used during last year’s Presidential Campaign.
Ya got your Hope. Ya got yer ‘Yes We Can’. Then there’s the fact that the Obama logo and the new Pepsi trademark are certainly related in the visual department (some idiots are wondering if Obama ripped Pepsi, or vice versa but the logos aren’t that similar, unless they’re used in the same context, something which the Pepsi ad agency obviously noted). Also worth noting is that the Democratic Convention (at which Obama was nominated) was held at the Pepsi Center in Denver (though apparently, that was more accidental that a case of corporate product placement).
By the way, the Obama campaign knock-off isn’t officially sanctioned, at least according to Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley who tells us that no marketing ideas were exchanged between the Pepsi and Obama teams. “We can’t speak to the president-elect’s design sensibilities, but we’re all over his prevailing spirit of optimism,” she says. “That’s as refreshingly bipartisan as it gets.”
Not sure about the bipartisan bit. There’s already talk of Republicans, no doubt smarting from their election loss, boycotting Pepsi because of the apparent connections and endorsement of Obama and what some are calling “blatantly Obama-themed ads”. True enough. As much as we’re all in a post-inauguration Obama love-fest, it’s probably worthwhile for marketers to remember that almost half of the country aren’t as impressed with Obama as those that voted for him are. On the other hand, the new POTUS is extremely popular with the youth market, the target of Pepsi’s advertising campaign.
And while we’re talking about bandwagons, looks like IKEA’s getting in on the action too. Their embrace change website allows visitors to create an Obama Oval Office using, naturally enough, furniture available from the Swedish manufacturers showrooms.
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Were Republicans EVER really drinking Pepsi anyway? lol
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