Soda maker Pepsi released a six-minute video with a "Year of the Monkey" theme in preparation for the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 8. The video, which is about a performer who played a monkey in a 1980s TV show, became viral with more than 15 million hits on Tencent's video site.
The show, "Journey to the West," tells the story of a clever, but mischievous monkey king with magical powers. Pepsi cleverly delivers its message by comparing the drink passed from generation to generation to the Zhangs, a Chinese family in which one male plays the role of the Monkey King from the stage to the cinema, spanning too several generations.
The video ends with the 6th generation "Monkey King" performing the same role in a modern cinema, with the soft drink now becoming more visible, while his father watched proudly.
Kids during the 1980s watched the family-friendly TV series that was rerun yearly. Since there was little TV fare choice during that time, young Chinese children who were at home in the afternoon, whether they were rich kids or poor ones, watched the show, explained Andrew Lok, founder of Civilization, a local independent agency that made the Pepsi commercial.
To give present-day viewers more context, Pepsico Vice President for Beverages in greater China Danielle Jin compared "The Monkey King" to "Star Wars" for American kids. She added, "The story itself is sort of like Batman or Spiderman meets 'Lord of the Rings.'"
In the last five years, PepsiCo has taken part in China's yearly Spring Festival. The "Bring Happiness Home" video is part of the soda brand's integrated campaign for China. PepsiCo will still release some digital videos, including short TV spots that feature celebrities. Pepsi's can also has a limited edition monkey can, reported Adage.
Beside the Lunar New Year monkey-themed ad, Pepsi also launched in October 2015 a smartphone exclusively available only in the Asian giant as part of its marketing strategy. Other than the mobile device, Pepsi would also make available to Chinese in the coming months apparel, food and, of course, soda, as its way of engaging consumers in innovative ways to grow its brand in a very big market, reported US News.