Advertising a New Generation
In the early-1960s competitor Pepsi was doing a better job of capturing their attention than the older, more established Coke brand, with ads that directly addressed them as fellow up-and-comers: Pepsi was the drink “For Those Who Think Young” -- they were “the Pepsi Generation.” In the Pepsi TV ads, a quiet setting would be broken by the sound of excitement like that of a motorcycle or a roller coaster, and California teenager types would embark on a frenetic, somewhat anarchic adventure, shot with handheld cameras for a New Wave style or from dramatic angles (like helicopter shots) over which played lively music and a singer calling on youth consumers to “Come Alive! Come Alive! You’re in the Pepsi Generation.”[i] Pepsi would meet youth culture where it was, as the ad says, and even encourage generational identity formation and countercultural style along the way.[ii]
