Dive Brief:
- PepsiCo's new ad campaign in support of the recently debuted PepsiMoji packaging will feature more than 100 five-second video advertisements that will run online and on TV throughout the summer.
- With shorter ads, PepsiCo is promoting a less disruptive campaign that strategically uses emojis, a popular visual shorthand that gets the company's message across quickly and in a way that today's consumers understand and appreciate.
- This could signal a "less is more" evolution for marketers looking to pique consumers' attention without irritating them with long and disruptive ads.
Dive Insight:
As much as consumers gripe about 15- and 30-second ads on TV or pre-roll ads online, they obviously do drive sales.
One strategy has been to spice up the content and make it more entertaining and engaging, such as through Mondelez's web sitcom for the Fig Newtons brand or General Mills' web series for French Toast Crunch. But even if the content is entertaining, consumers may be too annoyed by the disruption of whatever else they were watching or doing to respond positively to the ad — or the brand behind it.
PepsiCo recognizes the power of video ads and their limitations with this new campaign. By significantly shortening the length of the ad, consumers could be pleasantly surprised and respond positively to the brand. Five seconds may be all PepsiCo needs to put its product in the minds of consumers.
If this strategy works, a marketing revolution could spread across the industry wherein marketers focus more on brevity online and on TV. Just as today's consumers seek convenience in the way they purchase and consume food and beverage products, that "convenience" could also spread to video marketing. It definitely aligns with the rise of shorter video platforms like Instagram and Snapchat — what emojis call home.