Pepsi plans to celebrate fizz in the homes of APAC’s gen Z – here’s how
The Drum finds out why Pepsi is betting big on food at home as part of its APAC playbook.
Pepsi has launched #ThisIsAPepsiHome for the APAC market
Making food habits the hero of the story is the route that Pepsi has taken to talk to the gen Z set in its new brand campaign for some key APAC markets #ThisIsAPepsiHome.
Pepsi has collaborated with VaynerMedia, the creative and media agency, which has conceptualized this campaign.
The Drum speaks to the brand and the creative team behind the quirky campaign about how it is taking the brand narrative forward through eating-at-home moments.
Gen Z and the Pepsi world
While Pepsi has always been about the youth on some level, the latest campaign is upping its push for the gen-Z world. Krystle Morais, associate creative director, VaynerMedia APAC, says: “The creative task for the team was to drive relevance and celebrate the fizz in mealtime moments with Pepsi, focused on gen Z.”
To achieve that task, the Pepsi Home was created, breaking away from the typical family-around-the-dinner-table setting. Masud Anwar, regional marketing manager, PepsiCo Asia, shares: “It included capturing the way people eat in the comfort of their homes [and] even incorporating a current social media vibe in the campaign’s food photography style.”
Making ‘home’ and ‘food’ the heroes of the story
Dipping into the backstory and the insights behind the campaign, Morais says: “People are their most authentic selves when they eat at home, where they can eat without the worry of being judged.”
Anwar says this isn’t a new way to sell Pepsi, but more a modernization of a classic approach. “The rendition has been made more relevant to gen Z and the things that matter to them.”
Thus, authentic eating habits may often be imperfect, unbeautiful and hidden from others, but it’s what makes us who we are. Morais adds: “It’s also about the mindset of being true to who you are, being at home with that, which is especially true to this generation.”
Creating localized narratives for a universal brand theme
While the theme and the insights relating to gen Z such as authenticity and diversity are universal, says Anwar, “the occasions, the food and the talent featured are all local in the campaign – making it relatable to our audience in Asia.”
While the anthem film launches the premise, there are more hyper-local activations such as social, out-of-home (OOH) and sampling that will be rolled out in the markets, he adds.
Getting behind the scenes
The campaign captures the energy, spirit and new inspirations (fried chicken cake, anyone?), even with authentic and relatable situations, says Anwar.
The VaynerMedia team did this by tapping into real experiences of how people eat at home – while binge-watching K-dramas, loading up on sauces or eating with their hands. The agency’s strong gen-Z team was a big help in helping them bring a lot of stories and inspiration, says Morais.
The best – and yummiest – food was selected for the film and key visuals for it to resonate with the target group, she adds.