Why Pepsi Doubled Down on Hand-Crafted Origami Ads in an Age of AI-Generated Imagery
According to a recent study, spiced rum tastes better with Pepsi than the beverage brand's main cola competitor. So, Pepsi has doubled down on that insight with a new iteration of its extremely successful 'Better With Pepsi' campaign.
A follow-up to 2021's 'Burgers' campaign, which was one of last year's most awarded campaigns with its deftly identified Pepsi logos within the wrappers of America's most popular burger chains, this new series of ads does the same with popular rum brands. As with their predecessors, the prints have been intricately produced by hand thanks to the craftsmanship of origami artist Raya Sader Bujana and still life photographer Marçal Vaquer.
The campaign was created by Alma. LBB's Addison Capper spoke with creative directors Daniel Correa and Bruno Trad, as well as Pepsi chief marketing officer Todd Kaplan to find out more about doubling down on intricately hand-crafted creative in an age obsessed with AI-generated imagery.
LBB> Todd, why did Pepsi want to launch a follow-up to 2021’s 'Burgers' print campaign?
Todd> Two years ago, our Better With Pepsi: Burgers campaign laid a creative foundation for us to better associate our brand with key food occasions. Since then, we have expanded our efforts to include other cuisines like pizza and hot dogs, so we thought it would be a good time to broaden the campaign to address one of the biggest cultural truths out there around cola and rum. So ahead of National Rum Month, we felt the opportunity was ripe to show the country that the optimal pairing for a rum and cola is actually a Pepsi.
LBB> What kind of results did you see in that campaign? How successful was it?
Todd> The Burgers campaign was one of the most awarded campaigns in the world in 2022, and the real-world results were just as powerful. We’ve made significant inroads in what we call situational salience – ensuring that when consumers are confronted with key meal occasions like ordering a burger, Pepsi is top of mind in association with those moments. It’s worth noting that since that campaign we have become food service partners with popular national burger restaurants including Johnny Rockets and Fatburger.
LBB> When it came to developing this follow-up, what was your starting point? Did you always plan to launch something around National Rum Day?
Daniel and Bruno> We wanted to leverage the success of the Burgers campaign, and since we knew the logo was being evolved, we had a timeline and opportunity to do one last activation. Together we began looking for a great, final message that again positioned Pepsi as a challenger brand and identified an opportunity to challenge consumer behaviour. Once the brand had the research to prove the message that Pepsi goes better with rum, we knew we found the perfect message to help retire the logo and leverage another cultural tension point.
LBB> What is the process like of finding iconic, recognisable branding with the Pepsi logo hidden within? Is it quite arduous or more simple than it sounds?
Daniel and Bruno> We had the experience from Burgers to know where to start, keeping in mind the unique obstacles that came with working with rum brands and a campaign centred around a drink rather than food. We explored many brands and labels but had to make sure we used ones that audiences would recognise, and we had to obstruct them just enough. For Burgers, we were using brands with very recognisable logos that resonated globally, but rum brands are often more niche and regional. Rum labels also don’t fold the same as wrappers, they kind of just slide when they’re wet, so we had to solve for this difference. We were lucky to be working again with Raya and Marçal Vaquer, whose expertise in paper art and photography helped consider all possibilities to make it perfect in the end.
LBB> There is, to put it lightly, somewhat of an AI revolution ongoing right now when it comes to the creation of media, especially so in still images. What are your general thoughts on that as a creative and its potential use for a brand like Pepsi?
Daniel and Bruno> AI could recreate a lot of the work we’re seeing now, but we’re not sure it could recreate a campaign like this. And even if it could, some of the beauty in these images are that they’re real. We didn’t use manipulation on this campaign, and Raya’s involvement added an artistic element that makes it so genuine. In the end, consumers probably wouldn’t notice either way if it were AI, but it does matter for us as creatives in an industry where craft is important. If we make everything with AI, you can lose the essence of creativity.
Todd> As a brand, we’re committed to understanding the capabilities AI tools can unlock. Consistent with The PepsiCo Way, we aim to be a leader in responsible AI usage and are working with internal and external stakeholders to promote principles and regulatory frameworks that support that vision.
LBB> What does Raya’s work add to the final product that a machine perhaps couldn't pull off?
Daniel and Bruno> As an expert in craft and paper, it made sense to have her return for this campaign. We also brought back the still-life photographer, Marçal Vaquer, who has a sharp eye for objects, light and matter. Together they were important in creating and finding the logo in the right position, so our final result would require no manipulation.
Todd> With a talented artist partner like Raya and the creative partners at Alma, we were able to craft something entirely unique and exquisitely detailed, which takes on added importance when the creative is shown at mass scale with our suite of out of home media. Overall, this work is a wonderful reminder that there are still ways to develop stellar ‘analogue’ creative, even in an ever-increasing digital world!
LBB> How will the Better with Pepsi campaign evolve post-National Rum Day?
Todd> While we’re currently focused on the Rum: Better With Pepsi campaign, it’s a platform we’re definitely invested in, and we encourage fans to be on the lookout for more from Better With Pepsi in the future.
Daniel and Bruno> There are a lot of ways the brand could explore and expand on the Better with Pepsi platform, even going beyond the logo, which for us just happened to be the best asset for this message. Pepsi goes better with a lot of things in life, and they’ve only just scratched the surface with what’s been launched so far.
LBB> When it comes to marketing, why is a tactic like the one executed here - in which you almost directly speak about a main competitor - so powerful?
Daniel and Bruno> We don’t directly challenge the competitor; we’re just challenging a consumer behaviour. The competitor is just secondary. We’re really talking to the consumer and highlighting a behaviour they’re doing that they could change. As a challenger brand, Pepsi has the obligation to challenge, and that’s why it’s so great. They’re tapping into their brand DNA.
Todd> From the original Pepsi challenge to our Cola Truce concept in Atlanta a few years ago through today, we’ve always had fun reigniting the cola wars. This campaign is powerful because it taps into a real cultural truth – that while rum and cola has been around for over 100 years, it is almost ubiquitously associated with the other cola. So instead of shying away from that, we’re leaning in to declare that consumers have gotten it wrong, as rum is actually Better With Pepsi.
