Monday, April 7, 2014

Pepsi Ad Allows Viewers to Change Plot


Link to the interactive ad on Pepsi's website:
http://www.pepsi.com/en-us/d/content/2559/Pepsi-celebrates-music-and-football-proving-that-NOW-IS-WHAT-YOU-MAKE-IT
*Must have updated version of browser and Adobe Flash to view the interactive experience. 

Pepsi has globally released the latest ad of the brand’s 2014 football campaign, which is an interactive commercial that celebrates Rio, the game of soccer and music. The commercial stars the 2014 Pepsi All-Star #FutbolNow lineup—Robin van Persie, David Luiz, Sergio Ramos, Sergio Agüero, Jack Wilshere, and four-time player of the year, Leo Messi.
The interactive film immerses the viewer in the experience with a series of moments for fans to unlock. There are 11 interactive detours that give viewers control over the narrative, in which the cursor turns into a symbol in the video. Once the viewer clicks on the symbol the video launches into a short episode you wouldn’t see otherwise. The additional interactive content allows fans to create their own experience. For example, Leo Messi is shown reading a newspaper. At that point in the video, the cursor turns into a newspaper. If the viewer clicks at that moment, there is a scene where a crowd discovers Messi on the street and rushes over to him. However if you do not click at that precise moment, the scene quickly moves on and Messi picks up the paper and reads it again. The advertisement meshes soccer and music through singer/songwriter Janelle Monáe as she performs David Bowie’s classic song, “Heroes.”
Although the commercial is set in Rio and is full of all-star soccer icons, it does not mention the World Cup because Pepsi is not the official sponsor. Archrival Coca-Cola is, and the company has released documentary-style spots featuring people from around the world, which shows how the game of soccer can bring the world together.
This is the first time I have ever seen a video where the viewer is allowed to control his or her own experience with a series of moments to unlock. Although Coca-Cola focused on the World Cup and how soccer brings people together, I personally think Pepsi’s idea was much more creative and fun for viewers. In order to unlock the videos, viewers must pay close attention to the cursor as it quickly turns into a clickable symbol. If the viewer does not click it quickly, the scene moves on to the various other extended scenes that can be unlocked. This interactive experience offers twists to the stories of the soccer players, Rio and Janelle, and how their worlds coincide with one another. I think Pepsi's unique interactive experience is going to change the future of interactive videos and how we view them. 

Coca-Cola One World, One Game Commercial:


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