PepsiCo has named actor Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador and launched a new campaign aimed at younger consumers as it prepares for a long summer, which might boost sales of cool drinks.
Singh joins the increasing list of celebrity endorsers for Pepsi. Salman Khan joined the brand in 2019.
It has also just announced famed Kannada actor Yash of KGF fame as the brand’s new face. A prominent female actor might soon join Pepsi’s summer campaign, “Rise up Baby” which is now a running theme.
Summers in India are forecast to be hot and humid pushing manufacturers to capitalise on the demand for cold beverages and cooling gadgets.
“Rise up Baby is a young movement, and we are bringing it to life in diverse flavours. So, one flavour is the Ranveer explosion, and there will be another burst from a Yash viewpoint, which is set for a March end release”, PepsiCo India’s category lead for Pepsi Cola, Saumya Rathor, stated.
According to Duff & Phelps research, Singh, whose brand rankings rose in 2021, had a brand worth of $158.3 million. Behind cricketer Virat Kohli, Singh had the second-highest brand value in the rankings. Singh has 45 brand endorsements.
The corporation is also utilising the “Rise up Baby” campaign to get insight into the lifestyles of the young, as this generation continues to defy age-old cultural standards and redefines what success and happiness mean to them, according to the cola manufacturer. This generation lives life on its own terms, whether it’s their casual attitude towards social judgements, carving out a road to follow their ambitions or even their brazen ‘thumkas’ on reels, it said.
Nevertheless, Rathor stated that the brand will continue to be associated with Khan, at least for the time being. “This is not a star replacement plan for us. Salman is a brand ambassador. We’re just adding a few more names that help bring this campaign to life,” she added.
Yet, the move highlights an increasing trend of huge cola makers hiring comparable personalities to market their drinks. Singh was formerly a brand ambassador for competitor Coca-Cola’s Thums Up brand, while Khan had previously promoted the brand before being sacked. The (Thums Up) brand is now supported by actor Shah Rukh Khan, who formerly endorsed Pepsi in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
According to advertising experts, the employment of celebrities from competing firms is sure to confuse customers and generate clutter in the sector. Businesses are utilising celebrity faces as a crutch in the absence of large and compelling concepts, said business expert and independent director Lloyd Mathias.
The approach is likely to confuse customers who remember comparable celebrities supporting competing products a few years ago. As a result, he claims, the category is becoming overcrowded.
Having said that, Mathias said that soft drinks as a category have achieved significantly more penetration in India over the previous decade. “Brands must rely on mass star power to penetrate the hinterland,” he says.
Sandeep Goyal, managing director, Rediffusion stated the cola battles have effectively shifted to a new venue, a new playground. “Both brands have a lot of resources and reach a lot of people. “It’s a continual challenge to keep the brand ‘newsy,'” he says.