IQ News: DDB Interactive Creates "One" World For Pepsi

Produces Online Area Devoted To New Diet Drink DDB Interactive, Dallas, this week launches a special section on the PepsiWorld site promoting Pepsi-Cola Co.'s new soft drink, Pepsi One. Pepsi unveiled the product two weeks ago. The low-calorie cola from the Purchase, N.Y.-based soft drink giant is being marketed to males under 30, an unusual target for a so-called "diet drink" but also in keeping with the youth-oriented PepsiWorld site. The Pepsi One area, which launches Thursday, will tie in with a traditional campaign featuring actor Cuba Gooding Jr. that kicks off during the World Series on Oct. 17, the same day the soda hits stores. Banners for the Pepsi One section will appear on Major League Baseball's official World Series site, www.worldseries.com. Pepsi will launch other promotional partnerships after the site debuts. Users can also link to the Pepsi One information through an icon on the homepage of PepsiWorld at www.pepsi.com. It will include Cuba Gooding screensavers, a Shockwave "Hole in One" golf game and "e-cards," electronic messages that can be sent over the Internet. Site producer Reggie Sutton said the design was geared to appeal to the "young, progressive" demographic Pepsi hopes will guzzle the drink, which is made with a new sweetener, Ace-K, and aspartame. "From our perspective, we're trying to give it a new, futuristic look," Sutton said. "We're trying to go into the millennium type of feel." John Vail, Pepsi's division media director and head of new technologies, said, "We hope our regular users will find the Pepsi One area and have fun with it." Customers can submit feedback on the soda to the Pepsi One Taste Zone, a bulletin board area. Contributions will be posted weekly, though Vail said Pepsi reserves the right to edit comments. A sweepstakes also will coincide with the launch. The more than $50 million traditional campaign by BBDO, New York, which includes TV, radio, print and in-store promotions, is part of what Pepsi is terming its biggest new product launch ever. The television and radio spots will be available for download from the site. Vail said the online effort is "really an extension of everything else we're doing." Though the product is geared toward males, it is not meant to exclude female customers. Steve Fund, director of marketing for Pepsi One, said the company is targeting males to grow the category, appealing to those who want to cut calories but do not like the taste of diet cola. PepsiWorld, which launched in 1996, features a "Pop Culture" section with entertainment news and features aimed at a Gen-X audience. DDB Interactive also has done mini-site promotions within PepsiWorld for Dreamworks SKG films The Peacemaker and its new release, the animated movie Antz.

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IQ News: DDB Interactive Creates "One" World For Pepsi

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