As Holi festivities concluded, brands unveiled their vibrant campaigns. Among them, Pepsi, known for its iconic red, white, and blue branding, introduced a unique twist with its ‘thandai’, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI). The soft drink giant’s latest Holi-themed advertisement cleverly integrates AI into traditional delights like ‘Thandai’, ‘Bujiaai’, and ‘Mithai’. The wordplay here is evident: each word ends with ‘AI’, and by adding a single dot ahead of the letters ‘a’ and ‘i’, they sound remarkably similar to popular AI domains.
The commercial playfully hints at the prevalent discussion surrounding AI’s growing influence in the marketing landscape. This subtle nod is the crux of Pepsi’s new ad, which has garnered praise across online platforms.
Communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan took to LinkedIn to share his review of the ad. “A terrific mix of a topical day, a topical theme, and a brand,” he said, commending the ‘tongue in cheek’ humour of the film
Other users on LinkedIn chimed in to express their views on the ad under Srinivasan’s post. “Glad to see the slogan back”, said one user. Another user wrote ‘Brilliant dig at the .ai fad.’
The protagonist of the film, who is an employee of the company, lands upon a business idea when he looks up Thandai on the internet. Accidentally placing a dot ahead of letters ‘a’ and ‘i’, he instantly imagines all the possible products he could come up with AI. This, in his train of thoughts, could potentially disrupt the market and even circumvent the cricketing fever that has gripped the nation at the moment.Â
It isn’t long before he takes his million-dollar idea to the CEO. He walks in and pitches what he has in mind, only to have the boss say those six magic words- Let me get back to you. He doesn’t let his idea be crushed under the corporate hierarchy, as he sits and assesses all the potential ways he can let AI create products until he finally suggests that Pepsi should rename itself as ‘Peps.ai’. This is where his bag is thrown at him and he’s shown the exit door.Â
The ad film also carries the tagline Yeh Dil Maange More, Pepsi’s iconic slogan from the late 90s, coined by JWT. The slogan was actually revived by the brand a few weeks ago when it unveiled a new global branding.
As part of Yeh Dil Maange More series, the brand has also launched other ads ahead of IPL. One of the ads is a straight-up high-octane ad film bringing in all the Holi colours. Other ads feature celebrities such as Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, Telugu actor Yash, and popular comedian Zakir Khan.
