I'm a little late on the draw for all the furor surrounding the controversial Pepsi Suicide ads, but it's still worth a blog. Today, my copy team and I discussed ads that have caught our attention in the past month, either negatively or positively. This campaign generated a lot of discussion. The ad series ran in a German lifestyle magazine, but was quickly discovered and brought to the blogosphere. There have been all sorts of criticisms about the topic, and Pepsi pulled the ad. The question at hand is: how far is too far? Despite the First Amendment, are there topics that should be off-limits--especially in the far-reaching and heavily influential world of marketing?
The concept of a lonely calorie is not a bad one. Little Lonely Calorie could have been brought to life in many more tasteful ways that emphasized the drink's low-cal offering. Say, perhaps, riding a bicycle built for two--alone? Or doing other things meant for two, albeit solo? The execution of the concept is what dooms the ads. Not only is it in poor taste given the morbid subject matter, it's also off-brand for Pepsi. Yet another case of cool creative for creative's sake.
I love the campaign's coloring, illustration style and typography. The conceptual direction is what's problematic. And the agency, BBDO Dusseldorf, recieved a well-earned hand slap. As AdAge puts it, "Advertisers can no longer hide stuff in niche markets." The Internet makes geography obsolete--there's nowhere left to hide.
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