CHICAGO Pepsi-Cola has tapped Element 79 here to handle lead advertising duties for the introduction of its lightly carbonated beverage, Tava, to come out next year, the client confirmed.
The Omnicom Group shop, which is on PepsiCo’s roster, won the business after a review involving undisclosed agencies.
The shop will oversee all marketing for the brand, including advertising, direct and guerilla tactics, subcontracting out to other agencies where appropriate, according to an Element 79 representative.
“We’re taking a unique approach to Tava,” said Frank Cooper, vice president, flavored carbonated soft drinks, Pepsi-Cola North America, in a statement. “We’ve engaged Element 79 and several other agencies to bring this new sparkling beverage to market in a nontraditional way, focusing on experiential and grassroots marketing.”
Neither agency nor company representatives could provide details on the review.
Tava, which will be lightly carbonated, lightly flavored and have zero calories, will be introduced next summer. Element 79’s first work for the brand will break in the second quarter of 2007.
Spending on the effort was not disclosed. Pepsi-Cola North America spent $385 million on all advertising last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
Element 79 was created in 2001, after PepsiCo moved its then newly acquired Quaker Foods business from Interpublic Group’s Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago to Omnicom, with whom the company’s longtime agencies had a longstanding relationship. Omnicom eventually created a new agency, Element 79, under the direction of former FCB Chicago president Brian Williams.
Element 79 to Launch Tava
