After sitting out of the TV ad game for a few years, Pepsi and its roster of music A-listers are back with a vengeance. Its latest spot from TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles—launching the brand's first global campaign, themed "Live for now"—might not make you thirsty for a Pepsi-Cola, although it could have you thinking about the apocalypse.
The ad is called "Now in a Moment" (playing off of Nicki Minaj's hit "Moment 4 Life," natch). Here's the premise: A couple of "hip" young things crack open two cans of Pepsi (not Diet Pepsi—you're all getting diabetes), at which point all the action around them magically comes to a halt as "Moment for Life" blasts in the background. The wonderment-filled duo travel from locale to locale—sunny beach, tomato fight (is that some new hipster trend?), fashion show—taking pictures and generally hanging out with the frozen human inhabitants. Finally, they end up at a concert starring a demonic-looking Minaj and break the spell by cracking open another couple of—you guessed it—Pepsis.
I don't know about you, but if I opened a can of soda and the entire world came to an abrupt halt, I'd be kind of freaked out. I wouldn't be frolicking among the inanimate bodies. There's a weird sort of "end times" vibe here. I half expected the frozen beings to spring into rabid zombie mode (which happens to be Minaj's natural state) and devour the oblivious couple. Also, the whole frozen-in-time motif, while kind of cool, is pretty much played out at this point.
At the end of the day, there's not much novelty here—just a whole lot of money.
CREDITS
Client: Pepsi
Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: Rob Schwartz
Creative Director: Xanthe Wells
Art Director: Chris MacNeil
Copywriters: Brett Craig, Michelle Lewis
Executive Director of Integrated Production, Producer: Richard O’Neill
Assistant Producer: Stephanie Dziczek
Managing Director: Bill Brooks
Group Account Director: Mike Litwin
Group Planning Director: Oke Mueller
Director of Business Affairs: Linda Daubson
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Laura Drabkin
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Fredrik Bond
Executive Producer: Kate Leahy
Unit Production Manager: Line Postmyr
Director of Photography: Roman Vasyanov
Editorial Company: Union Editorial
Executive Producer, President: Michael Raimondi
Senior Producer: Joe Ross
Editors: Tim Thorton-Allan, Nicholas Wayman-Harris
Assistant Editors: Andy Trecki, Daniel Reitzenstein
Visual Effects: The Mill, Los Angeles
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
VFX Producers: Enca Kaul, Rachael Trillo
VFX Supervisor: Tim Davies
Flame Lead: Sarah Eim
Colorist: Adam Scott
End Graphic: The Mill, Los Angeles
Executive Producer: Stephen Venning
Producer: Lusia Boryczko
Creative Director: Tom O’Neill
Music and Sound Design Company: Elias Arts
Composer, Remixer: David Wittman
Creative Director: Dave Gold
Executive Producer: Ann Haugen
Sound Designer: Jay Nierenberg
Sound Mix: Play
Mixer: John Bolen