Signifier: Pepsi and Kyrie Irving
Signified: Pepsi is the 2nd biggest soft drink company in the world behind Coca-Cola. They came out with their own version of a zero calories Pepsi drink calling it Pepsi Max it competes with Coke Zero.
Image: In the print add it shows even a young fit person in Kryie Irving drinks Pepsi Max and it’s not just for people who want to lose weight or for “fatter” people. Irving plays an old guy name “Uncle Drew “. In the three set minisodes/commercials you see an old guy getting into a pickup game of basketball that does bad till he then shows off and does stuff that no one can do at that age. They don’t know that it’s really Irving in makeup and a wig pretending to be old. The people watching them play are all drinking the Pepsi Max. In the next spot he talks to Bill Russell about getting the old team back. He goes and recruits “Walt” to play with him and this time it is Walt who starts of slow then picks it up and schools them all. Walt is played by now Cavalier then Timberwolves forward Kevin Love. In the next one the old guy recruits “Lights” to play with him who is now a jazz trumpet player in Chicago. He gets “Lights” to play against his “wife’s” permission. For the third time they start off bad to not make it look easy and again they play better later on and schools them. His “wife” arrives and gets mad that he’s playing. Someone said “listen to the old woman”, which pisses her off. She then comes in and schools everyone on the court like the other three did previously. Playing “Lights” and the wife is former Bulls guard Nate Robinson who filmed this while on the Bulls, and Maya Moore, WNBA star of the Minnesota Lynx.
Denotation: This is an ad for a soft drink (soda pop). Cola no matter who makes it we all drink it and some people find diet soda to be girly. This Pepsi Max is endorsed by manly NBA players so they want you to know it is ok to drink it. It also is using the perfect way to market it with NBA/WNBA players who already have their own brand and are famous.
Connotation: I think there is a subtle message in these ads. Yes, the ads are about selling a zero calorie drink to the masses which is mainly to the men since diet soda is targeted to women mostly. The hidden message here is not to judge a book by its cover and that just because someone is old/looks old doesn’t mean that they can’t do things you can. It fights ageism in the world but it is also a very well scripted set of commercials.
Icon: The Pepsi logo has pretty much stayed the same since its existence with that circle with red and blue and white in the middle. When you see that circle you know you are drinking cola. Pepsi has always been second in soft drink sales since the beginning of time but there are people who prefer Pepsi over Coke. When it comes to lemon lime, root beer, and diet/zero calories, Pepsi has copied Coke. The only thing Pepsi can say that they made over Coke is Mountain Dew, which is a caffeinated citrus drink and has spawned many versions of it from the original. Also, when you use Hall of Famer Bill Russell, current NBA stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, people know who they are, but you can’t tell with the makeup but still know them based on their game.
Diachronic Analysis: Like Coke, Pepsi has been around in the USA since the 1960s, but began in the late 1800s as “Brad Drink”, but wasn’t the same drink as what we know it as today. They originally beat Coke in the beginning of the 1960-70s until Coke tweaked their drink and came out with Spire. So Pepsi was only briefly on top of the soft drink market and never has been since, playing second fiddle to Coke. Coke vs. Pepsi is one of those debates like hot dog or burgers, Chevy or Ford, apple pie or blue berry pie. Pepsi has a longer history than Coke and has it beat by being produced here in the states. One thing you can say is that Pepsi hasn’t given up, coming out with every version Coke has and letting people decide what they want. They also beat Coke by being the sponsor of the halftime show for the Super Bowl, which attracts so many viewers to help produce more sales. They also know that if they use someone like Beyonce, or NBA players it will help make it more marketable. They plan on making another commercial hopefully with Love, Robinson, Moore and one more athlete playing with Irving to make it a real complete game.
Ideology: They are trying to sell a zero calories soft drink to people since some don’t drink the diet version. Pepsi Max is the non girly diet drink without it saying diet anywhere on the container. It is similar to the Dr. Pepper 10 which is their zero calories version for their drinks. No one wants to drink diet soda they are afraid to admit they are fat or need to drink less sugar/calories. In this country we all want to eat pizza and ice cream with soda all the time without the consequences. Also, when you have NBA players sell your product it will help convince the men to buy the zero calorie drink making it not seem too girly.
Codes: The social code is that if your favorite NBA players pick Pepsi over Coke you should follow what your favorite athlete does. What famous people do sometimes shapes our behavior and certainly our shopping habits.
Jingoism: In general Pepsi is targeting all genders, race and age but Pepsi Max is targeting the male demographic and fat men really. They also are targeting NBA fans since its just NBA players playing pickup basketball in the spot. They also picked an All Star, a rising star to be the spokesman, so that will help them drive more sales.