For over 70 years, Egyptian cinema has been the Hollywood of the Middle East. For decades, Egyptian music has been blasted through countless streets, and concerts filled to the brim.
For over 70 years, Pepsi was there to see it all. That is the premise of Pepsi’s newest ad, Lovely.
Pepsi’s newest campaign aims to remind us of its long-lasting presence in the local scene, and how it has constantly evolved to fit with the times and style of each time period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY7dEpY8gNM
The ad brilliantly moves through the decades, showing off the fashion, film styles and Egyptian music development timeline for the last 70 years.
Moving from classical black and white to Amr Diab-like in the 2000s, to today’s popular festival music videos and dancing styles. Listen to the musical stylings of the mid-1900s, to the 70s bright flower power era to today’s electronically mixed music.
And listen to the different lyrical stylings of each decade.
Inspiration
Taking its main music notes and lyrics from the classic Nos Sa’a Zawag (نصف ساعه زواج) 1969, by Samir Sabry and Shadia.
The song, and movie, has been an important classic in Egypt’s cinematic history, with many Egyptians still remembering the well-known movie. Many of us, young and old, still remember the song as well.
This Egyptian musical classic lends its nostalgia and familiar notes to Pepsi, who has tweaked each time period’s music and lyrics according to the appropriate popular music style.
Some eagle-eyed viewers may notice the subtle joke Pepsi makes, in which a larger woman attempts to wrestle the attention of the secondary male, a scene stealer in the original movie scene.
Continuation
Pepsi seems to be preparing a series of videos to compliment the campaign, each showing a specific era’s lifestyle and Pepsi can design.
So far, the soft drink manufacturer has only released its first video, focusing on the mid-1900s.
Although Pepsi has used Nostalgia as a long-running strategy over the many decades its been in the industry, it continues to defy over usage of the theme and keep engaging audiences.
What do you think of Pepi’s newest campaign?
Is it a hit or miss?
Let us know in the comments below.
