When I read about the new Pepsi My can ad, I was quite excited about the approach. You know, ‘interactive television commercial’ and all that. Visions of an edge-of-the-seat commercial with a tantalizing story, a last minute twist – all backed up with a major online activity flashed through my mind. Unless I am seeing the wrong version, this seems like any other TVC.
I am sure there are plans to make it interactive – though the Youngistaan site does not seem to feature it as yet. While the approach is laudable, I found the TVC a bit too tame – an engrossing story line, big scale are all ingredients that boost viewer participation. What’s with the heroine covering her eyes when Ranbir takes his shirt off? That was so typical of a Hindi film heroine. A ’70s Hindi film heroine, that is. I guess Asha Parekh has a ‘connect’ with today’s youth.
UPDATE: I found the microsite where all the interactive action is supposed to happen. You are asked to complete the story in 100 words. Would it have been more response-friendly if alternate endings were already provided and you had to vote? Writing your own ending could been an option. On the TVC, isn’t it corny to have them hold the can in that odd fashion – like in the earlier My Can films? It’s like forcibly saying ‘Look, how cool we are’. And when it comes to connecting with the youth, if you spell it all out, it ain’t cool.
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Or may be they want to expand the cola market by making the so called ‘moral polices’ Pepsi drinkers!