Love 'em or Hate 'em: The New Pepsi Ads

I have to confess: I love the new Pepsi ads. The bright, unexpected colors, the "pop-y" language, the young vibe... when I first saw the billboards, they made me smile. Maybe it's because the "YO," "XOXO" and "FO SHO" signage is, well, fun. And at the risk of sounding aloof, they (well, at least the ads that I saw initially) did not automatically remind me of the Obama campaign. I, however, seem to be in the minority... and I do now see where the majority is coming from. The only difference? I don't really care.


Google "Pepsi, Obama" and you will see the number of sites dedicated to "exposing" these similarities. And after looking at several, I can see the parallels. The "YES YOU CAN" and "COME TOGETHER" messaging does sound slightly Obama-esque, and if you really want to get literal, you can attest the newly-renovated Pepsi symbol itself does somewhat resemble that of "O" for Obama. There are people in the blogosphere arguing how if you "flip the sign, invert it, then rotate it 45 degrees, the two definitely look one in the same." (Not a literal translation, but you get my drift.) Obama is a hot topic, and hey, political analysts need something beside the downtrodden economy to discuss... maybe Pepsi was the next best choice?


The thing is, even if the two look somewhat similar, I don't see the problem. The ads made me smile because they are a change of pace, and are, for lack of a better term, pretty. Also, Pepsi has always taken the angle of being the drink of the new generation -- and believe it or not, messages of hope and community are not exclusive to Obama. Our country is going through some changes, and I think Pepsi is, at worst, riding on the coattails of the spirit of optimism...


but when did that become a bad thing?

Watch one of the commercials here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KS3PrYN8lc