Indiantelevision.com Team

(7 May 2007 9:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The 43-year-old Diet Pepsi brand gets a makeover, including a fresh, new look and a series of new ads that play up its strength - more cola taste than Diet Coke.

Pepsi employees celebrated the occasion by handing out more than three million samples of the newly designed cans in cities throughout the US.

In a modern day Pepsi Challenge, an outside research firm ran a double-blind taste test in geographically diverse markets where consumers chose Diet Pepsi as the brand with more cola taste than the competition.

Says Pepsi-Cola North America senior VP and chief marketing officer Cie Nicholson, "We have always believed that Diet Pepsi had more cola taste than the other diet cola brand and now there's proof. We are shining the light on this one basic, yet incredibly important fact in an ad campaign reminding people about the great taste of Diet Pepsi."

Five new spots play off some of the pop culture trends and icons Diet Pepsi drinkers know best. The campaign, which was created by DDB New York, offers a simple, light-hearted approach that leaves the unmistakable message that Diet Pepsi has "more cola taste" than its competitors, without taking itself too seriously.

Politically Correct: This ad pokes fun at the need for political correctness, asking consumers to not be rude about the fact that Diet Pepsi has more cola taste than the competition.

Jingle: This recognises that people are drawn to jingles, facts and puppy dogs, and sings the praises of Diet Pepsi using all three.

Life Lessons: This contrasts useless information like Pig Latin with more useful information about Diet Pepsi's more cola taste advantage.

A Little More than Half: This is an exaggeration of the magnitude of diet cola drinkers who think Diet Pepsi has more cola taste.

90210: Characters from the TV show Beverly Hills 90210 illustrate how diet cola choices separate the cool kids from the rest. The "more cola taste" message will also be communicated on radio and out- of-home advertising.

In addition to new advertising support, Diet Pepsi's graphic makeover features a striking blue and silver design and a bold new "diet" font and logo that jump right off the can. It's a modern, slightly more masculine look that helps the brand appeal to emerging Diet Pepsi drinkers from Generation X while staying true to its loyal fans of all ages.