Pepsi-Cola reveals Super Bowl advertising playbook; details on Apple iTunes Giveaway

There will be five new commercials for Pepsi and Sierra Mist on Super Bowl XXXVIII. The spots, airing in the first, second and third quarters over a total of three minutes, will mark the 19th straight year that PCNA has advertised in the big game. The descriptions below offer a snapshot of what viewers can expect to see on CBS’s Super Sunday telecast on February 1.

Pepsi iTunes — “I Fought The Law”
This groundbreaking ad, featuring 16 real-life teenagers who were sued by the recording industry for illegally downloading music from the Internet, shows music fans a new way to freely and legally download music — the Pepsi iTunes 100 Million Song Giveaway. The commercial is set to Green Day’s version of “I Fought the Law.”

On Super Bowl Sunday, Apple and Pepsi will launch a historic promotion to legally give away 100 million free songs to Mac and Windows PC users from Apple’s iTunes Music Store — the world’s number one digital music service. Beginning February 1, 100 million winning codes will be randomly seeded in 20-ounce and 1-liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and the winning codes will be redeemable for a free song from the iTunes Music Store. Winners will simply go to Apple’s iTunes Music store (http://www.iTunes.com), enter the code found under the bottle cap and choose any 99 cent song from the online store’s vast catalog of over 500,000 songs. The promotion will run until March 31, 2004.

Pepsi — “Crossroads”
Set in 1953, a young Jimi Hendrix seeks refreshment and must choose between a Pepsi and Coke machine. After buying a Pepsi and taking a drink, Hendrix has a revelation and a music legend is born.

Pepsi — “Mountain Men”
Two bears exploring an empty cabin in the woods come across food but nothing to drink: the Pepsi cooler is empty.

Sierra Mist — “Bagpipes”
A bagpiper performing in extremely hot temperatures finds a unique way to achieve a “shockingly refreshing” cool down.

Sierra Mist — “Fire Escape”
A guy and his dog (star of “Something About Mary”), now in their third Sierra Mist commercial together, take a plunge from a fire escape to get refreshment during an extremely hot day.

“The Super Bowl offers the biggest and best stage to generate buzz and excitement for our brands,” said Dave Burwick, SVP and chief marketing officer, Pepsi-Cola North America in the press release. “There is no better time or place to launch new ideas like our 100 million song giveaway promotion with Apple.”

In addition to its television efforts, Pepsi is the presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl’s official Web site, [url=http://www.superbowl.com]http://www.superbowl.com[/url] Beginning Super Bowl weekend and throughout February, Pepsi will feature ads and giveaways on the site. The Pepsi iTunes promotion will be highlighted on the Super Bowl site and on Yahoo! with a special message from superstar Beyonce Knowles.

3 Comments

  1. Does anyone know for sure whether Apple is airing a new ad in the Superbowl? I remember reading back in December that Chiat was supposedly working on something but I never heard anything definitive. Anyone know?

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