Joanna Pantelides Lori Bedell CAS 137H PepsiCo and Beyonc

PepsiCo Inc. is an American international food and beverage corporation. Although coming in close second to Coca Cola according to Forbes Magazine, Pepsi has become the top grossing soft drink in the world and is enjoyed by people of different ages. PepsiCo though, chooses to sector itself as the beverage choice of the New Generation which includes people aged anywhere from early teens to early adults. In targeting people of these ages, PepsiCo believes that convincing them to adopt its product can provide the corporation with loyal customers in the long haul. Having appeared on four advertisements for the soft drink since 2002, Beyonc Knowles has become the face of Pepsi after teaming up and becoming its 50 million dollar brand-ambassador in late 2012. The logical use of many versions of Beyonc Knowles in Pepsis commercial uses Knowles' tremendous ethos as an icon and artist to make the argument that iconic Pepsi is as progressive and cool as ever, and capable of being the drink of choice of someone as hot as Beyonc is. Beyonc is a spot-on depiction and reflection of Pepsis slogan for its commercial which says Embrace your past, but live for now. The company uses a logical approach in order to convey this message by bringing back past versions of Beyonc, such as herself dressed in the costumes for her music videos to Bootylicious, Crazy in Love and Single Ladies. The commercial begins with her rehearsing for her new single. As she goes to take a break by taking a sip of her chilled, refreshing Pepsi, she looks in the mirror of the dance studio and sees reflections of herself dressed in the costumes she wore in past videos. Through out the entire commercial, Beyonc mimics the dance moves her reincarnations do with great ease, showing mastery and maturation. Beyonc is then shown in a octagonal shaped mirror, dancing in her original outfit from the beginning of the commercial, with all the versions of herself as back up dancers. This image creates the idea that her new self is in control, since shes leading her old self in the choreography. She then drops back in a layout and punches the mirrors that reflect past versions of herself. The logical flow of the commercial accurately illustrates how Beyoncs past has influenced and sculpted her into the artist she is today by correlating it to Pepsis long history and fame ,

which has brought the company to where it is today.

PepsiCo uses Beyoncs ethos as a current, popular and successful artist worldwide in order to establish its own ethos and attract and convince the New Generation to adopt its product. The commercial uses Beyoncs ethos as a talented musician by including a promotion for her next album. The fact that the whole idea behind the campaign was built around her new song, which has no title or release date, lures the curious audience to want to watch the commercial just see a sneak peak. PepsiCo also uses Beyoncs ethos as a strong and sexy performer. Throughout her entire musical career, she has made it a constant point to place an emphasis on gender equality, which is something that her fans support and value her for. PepsiCo uses Beyoncs work ethic and engaging performance techniques in the creation of the commercial by making it feel like its another one of her entertaining music videos. Most female singers that are in the current spotlight need to have the total package in order to survive and re main in the music industry. Luckily for Pepsi, Beyonc has that and more; she is often known for her natural, ageless and humble beauty. Knowles was named 2012 Worlds Most Beautiful Woman by PEOPLE magazine. PepsiCo attempts to use Beyoncs worldwide fame as a reflection of its brand.

Aside from the logical and ethical approaches PepsiCo uses to support its argument that Beyonc is as current as its brand, the company invested an enormous amount of funds. PepsiCo tried to do more than just feature Beyonc; the corporation tried to launch a project with Beyonc that included classic advertising like commercials along with a multimillion dollar fund to support her chosen creative projects such as her Halftime performance aired during Super Bowl XLVII. PepsiCo certainly counted on Beyonc to deliver a killer performance so that the company would also receive recognition, which she definitely accomplished yet again. Even celebrities such as Kim Kardashian were tweeting about it: I heard there was this little football game at the Beyonc concert todayis that true? #BeyoncBowl. According to the New York Times, the corporation invested $3.7 to $3.8 million dollars for the average 30-second spot to air Beyoncs newly released Mirrors commercial just moments after her unforgettable performance. PepsiCo also created a limited edition line of soda cans with Beyoncs face plastered on them, first seen in Europe in March 2013. These marketing experiments establish a strong correlation between Pepsi and Beyonc.

As an American international food and beverage corporation that has been around since 1898, 2

PepsiCo Inc. progressively adapts its marketing techniques and spokespeople in order to attract the New Generation. Beyonc Knowles is just one of many iconic spokespeople for the corporation; others include Joan Crawford, Michael Jackson, Christian Aguilera and Britney Spears. Through the use of logos, ethos, and an enormous amount of money, it is evident that PepsiCo attempts to associate itself with Beyoncs long history and growing success. PepsiCo chose Knowles to be the companys brand-ambassador, in an attempt to prove that the company, though loaded with history, is as progressive, forward thinking a beverage as she is as an artist. According to Brad Jakeman, President of the Global Beverage Group at PepsiCo, there isnt an artist more in the now than Beyonc. Shes one of the worlds truly iconic artists whos always in the consumers eye, which is the exact goal of PepsiCo as well, so who better to choose to represent the company than Beyonc Knowles?

Works Cited

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Hernandez, Brian Anthony. "Beyonc Battles Past Selves in Pepsi's 'Mirrors' Commercial." Mashable. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. http://mashable.com/2013/04/04/beyonce-pepsi-mirrors-beyherenow/ "In Beyonc Deal, Pepsi Focuses on Collaboration - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/business/media/in-beyonce-deal-pepsi-focuses-oncollaboration.html?_r=1& "Pepsi History." Sirpepsi. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. http://www.sirpepsi.com/pepsi11.htm "Pepsi Max Beyonc "Mirrors" - Official 2013 video - #BeyHereNow - YouTube." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qp8WodZg1U "Pepsi and Beyonc Team Up in $50 Million Ad Campaign - CraveOnline." Movie Trailers, Video Games, Sports, Music - CraveOnline. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. http://www.craveonline.com/music/articles/201355-pepsi-and-beyonce-team-up-in-50-million-adcampaign "Super Bowl Ad Spending Hits New Heights - Forbes." Information for the World's Business Leaders Forbes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2013/01/29/super-bowl-ad-spending-hits-new-heights/