Pepsi unveiled its first U.S.-based tagline in more than 20 years, announcing the “That’s What I Like” campaign on Thursday.
Following previous slogans such as “The Choice of the New Generation” and “The Joy of Cola,” “That’s What I Like” will be on new Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero Sugar promotions, including five new national television commercials.
“The campaign is derived from and inspired by Pepsi’s most loyal drinkers, who proudly like what they like and live their lives out loud without worrying about what others will think – whether its clapping at the end of a movie, wearing an over-the-top costume for the fun of it, or simply enjoying a Pepsi,” the company stated in a release.
The TV ads, which feature “people getting lost in a moment and finding themselves dancing in unexpected places or situations, despite the amused gaze of onlookers,” will be aired this weekend during NFL Wild Card games and the Golden Globes awards broadcast.
“The use of slogans is a tried and true way to create unique engagement with a brand, especially in the quotidian barrage of social media messages that are more and more difficult for brands to measure, if they can get it to stick,” said Mark Johnson, CEO and CMO of Loyalty360.
According to Joe McHugh, Senior Director, Insights & Analytics, Pepsi, a great deal of customer research went into developing the new tagline.
"We've worked extensively to evolve and deepen our understanding of the Pepsi consumer,” McHugh said in the release. “By leveraging both broad qualitative and quantitative research, we've unlocked rich consumer learnings that have enabled us to fine tune our brand communications in a meaningful way that resonates with our unapologetically passionate and loyal Pepsi drinkers."
The campaign will be used in digital and social outlets, point-of-sale locations, retail creative and more.
"Pepsi has always been a brand associated with enjoyment – from barbeques, to baseball games, to meals with family and friends. And we know that our most loyal Pepsi drinkers take that enjoyment up a notch, so it is no surprise that they are more likely than non-Pepsi drinkers to belt out a karaoke song, binge-watch their favorite shows, or wear their team jerseys to a rival's home game," Todd Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing at Pepsi, said in the release. “We created this campaign to pay homage to this unapologetic mindset embraced by our most loyal fans, with a music-forward expression to pinpoint the feeling our consumers have when they genuinely enjoy themselves in an uninhibited way.”
“With the hyper focus brands and marketers are placing on personalization, social media influencers, and one-to-one marketing, this seems to be reminiscent of the halcyon days of marketing when a brand could create unity around a theme that is understood and socialized by all,” Johnson added. “Brands seem to have an interest in taking control of their brand back from the masses in the social media stratosphere. The challenge is to shape the message in a manner that is conducive and understood by all segments and targets.”