After cricket, Pepsi moves to football

The last time around five prominent cricketers, including Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, promoted the “Youngistaani” concept during the 2011 World Cup. Building on that, soft drink major Pepsi has now zeroed in on football since it is “fast emerging as a youth platform”.

“Young people like to do their own thing and football is fast emerging as a youth platform,” Homi Battiwalla, a category director at Pepsi, said of the new TV ad film featuring actor Ranbir Kapoor that premieres over the weekend. It’s the first of a series of football-related initiatives the company has planned over the year.

“The ad film continues with the ‘Change the Game’ concept that was launched with the cricket series. It’s a celebration of the unconventional way of playing football. But then, the young are always about doing things differently,” Battiwalla, the content director for colas, hydration and mango-based beverages, said.

To this end, the ad film brings alive youthful irreverence, with a young football enthusiast giving a fittingly cheeky reply to Ranbir, who questions his passion for football. It ends with a delightful take of Ranbir displaying his football skills – with hilarious results.

Battiwalla said Ranbir fits the role to a T.

“He was an obvious choice. He was a state-level footballer before he came into films. He’s got a lot of passion for the game,” Battiwall said.

Football, Ranbir said, “is life for me and if not an actor I would have loved to be a footballer. It teaches one team work, determination and discipline apart from being such an exciting sport”.

“The new campaign retains the original irreverent and fun Pepsi style along with the new football energy and excitement,” said Saurabh Saksena, executive business director of JWT India, which conceived the ad film.