Pepsi Max’s Cheeky New Campaign From Special Reminds Us Never Settle For Ok
What’s in a name? A lot, especially when you want a drink that tastes better than OK to maximise the flavour of food. That’s the playfully provocative premise of a new campaign for Pepsi Max via Special.
The ‘Tastes OK’ campaign, is the latest iteration of the established Pepsi Max ‘Tastes Better’ brand platform, highlights a design flaw that's been hiding in plain sight in the name of the brand's biggest competitor, reminding Aussies that food tastes better with Pepsi Max.
The creative highlights the unfortunate comparative term ‘OK’ in the spelling of the competitor’s name and invites consumers to choose a better tasting partner for their favourite meal by ordering Pepsi Max.
The OOH-led campaign lets drinkers of the competitor’s product know they’re settling for just ‘OK’ when they don’t choose Pepsi Max, with ads appearing on OOH sites across the country. The media strategy also spans print, display, publisher partnerships, an influencer program, and social signs.
Vandita Pandey, chief marketing officer ANZ, Snacks and Beverages at PepsiCo, said, “We have long known that Pepsi Max tastes better than our main competitor and this latest campaign helps us reinforce our position as a challenger brand. Australia’s meals are not being done justice, palates across the nation are being deprived, whilst consumers settle for OK. Working with Special Group to bring to life our bold and disruptive nature with a little light-hearted fun is something we know resonates well with customers.”
Simon Gibson and Nils Eberhardt, creative directors at Special said, “Getting briefed to work on the ‘Tastes Better’ campaign is exciting and intimidating in equal measure. It’s such a bold and direct line and it’s led to great work in the past, so we all knew we needed to do something that lived up to it. Then, our competitor did it for us. We saw an image they put out into the world and noticed something we couldn’t unsee.”
The campaign launched 5 February.
