PROPAGANDA IN PEPSI COMMERCIALS

Throughout the years, Pepsi Cola advertisers have used various types of propaganda to attract attention and lure customers. We have found Pepsi television commercials containing propaganda techniques such as hyperbole, testimonial, plain-folk, snob appeal, post hoc fallacy and, of course, humor, which is what makes Pepsi commercials so entertaining. Although these types of propaganda work well in attracting attention, some can be irrelevant to the actual product that is trying to be sold.

The most common type of propaganda used in Pepsi ads is humor. In one popular commercial, a young boy is drinking a Pepsi and sucks himself completely into the bottle. We found this funny because the possibility of someone being vacuumed into a Pepsi bottle is absurd. This shows the use of hyperbole and humor. It seems that humor has become popular in advertising because consumers are more likely to remember a comical ad longer than a “regular” one.

Another somewhat overused propaganda technique for Pepsi ads is the testimonial. Testimonials are often used in Pepsi commercials to persuade people that Pepsi tastes better than Coke. In an ad we found a Pepsi delivery man and a Coke delivery man sitting together in a diner on Christmas Eve, exchanging laughs and flashing photos of their children. This is a good example of plain-folk also. The Coke guy offers the Pepsi guy a drink of his Coke. The Pepsi guy accepts, takes a sip and hands it back. The Pepsi guy returns the offer and offers his drink to the other man. The Coke guy takes a swig but then refuses to give the can back.

A more recognizable testimonial is an ad where Bob Dole is talking about how great Pepsi tastes. In the commercial, he simply states that Pepsi is the best cola drink and that he highly recommends it. This is a testimonial because the commercial involves a man giving advice to the viewers about which product to buy. Because Bob Dole is a person of high authority, this ad can also can be classified under snob appeal.

The last type of propaganda we found in Pepsi ads is post hoc fallacy, also known as cause and effect error. A teenage boy is on the subway with a Pepsi in his hand. He sees a poster of these three lovely women in a swimming pool and smiles. He takes a drink of his Pepsi, closes his eyes and imagines himself in the pool with the other women. This is definitely an error in cause and effect, because the commercial states that drinking Pepsi will give you pleasant daydreams. Everyone knows that in reality, Pepsi dose not cause daydreams.

Pepsi ads are, in our opinion, some of the most clever commercials made by advertisers. Humor is used so well that you are guaranteed to laugh in every new commercial that comes out, especially the ones during the Super Bowl. Pepsi will continue their witty commercials while other companies such as Coca Cola try to keep up.

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