Pepsico goes #BackToSchool, to celebrate Friendship Day

Pepsico has launched a campaign ahead of Friendship Day, which falls on 3 August 2014. The campaign kicked off with an online video posted on 25 July. It has been conceptualised by former JWT hand and author Anuja Chauhan and team Pepsico.

A set of four friends recollect their early school days as they approach their farewell. They walk into a classroom they occupied years ago, bringing back memories – of sipping on a pack of Tropicana in class, getting reprimanded by the teacher, playing, posing for a class picture and so on. The scene shifts back to the present and the farewell party, replete with Pepsi and Lays. The soundtrack goes ‘School khatam ho raha hai, dosti nahin’ (School is ending, not friendship). The film ends with the #BackToSchool message.

Rishi Dogra, head - digital marketing, PepsiCo India, said, “The campaign kicks off with celebrations around Friendship Day, getting people to reconnect with old school friends and relive their school days by sharing anecdotes, photos and memories they cherish with their best buddies. The launch phase of the campaign is being led only on digital through this heart-warming video and social media conversations, connecting school friends in real time, online. This is only the beginning and just like great friendships, the idea is not one we'd like to set an expiry date to."

In a prepared statement, Chauhan said, “The school farewell is a rite of passage that's been neglected in advertising. It's a day of looking forward, as well as of looking back, when you’re hopeful, excited and extremely nervous. People think teenagers are too young to experience nostalgia – but they do! Am glad tiffin-chors across age groups want to go #BackToSchool.”

The campaign seeks to engage audiences digitally through multiple themes: #ClassPhoto, #LastSchoolDay, #SchoolBesties, #GetOutofTheClass (story) and #MySchoolCanteen.

Dogra added, “This video is just the starting point and we hope it takes you #BackToSchool and spurs you to share those memories with us and your closest friends.”

Credits

Creative: Anuja Chauhan, Team Pepsico (Deepika Warrier, Rishi Dogra, Mayank Chaddha, Bikash Borah, Divya Wadhwa)
Writer: Anuja Chauhan
Production house: Firecracker
Director: Abhishek Kapoor (Kai Po Che)
Producer: Harsh and Meeta Dave
DOP: Aney Goswami
Music and singer: Vipin Mishra
Lyrics: Anuja Chauhan