Pepsi’s ‘Josh’ cola pits brains against brawn

Pepsico India has rolled out its launch film for Atom, a new cola from its stable.  Positioned as the ‘Josh Cola’, the film for the drink has been created by Taproot India and features brand ambassador, actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The film opens with a man doing push ups on the terrace of a building. His friend Rajput, who is shown drinking Pepsi Atom, asks him about his plans for the day. Before he can respond, he is interrupted by the sight of a girl seemingly being held by the hand forcibly by someone. He jumps off the building to save the girl. Rajput asks him to calm down and try thinking before showing off his macho moves, to no avail. After ‘rescuing’ the lady in distress, Rajput’s friend gets slapped by her – it turns out it was her husband who had been bashed up, while helping her try on some bangles. Rajput steps in, opens two bottles of Atom, gives one to his friend, man and says, ‘Chalo aaj kuch akalmand kare?’ (Shall we do something intelligent today?).

On the film, Agnello Dias, chief creative officer and co-founder, Taproot India, said, “The brand space we were operating in was to look at masculinity differently in the current day context. And from there, the whole thought of true machismo does not mean you have to force it unless really needed, seemed interesting for a brand to own. Because if you are a real man, you don’t really need to constantly prove it.”

Pepsi said in a statement that Atom is a strong, fizzier cola positioned as a ‘Josh’ cola that ‘redefines masculinity and portrays the modern Indian man in a new light’. Taking a dig at competition, it added, “Traditionally, we have seen unrealistic and exaggerated portrayal of male characters in advertising and movies, but it is not only about brawn these days; a real man is someone who has the strength of mind as well as body. Our tagline, ‘Piyo Josh Mein Jiyo Hosh Mein’ and the on air ad campaign project the more relevant and relatable definition of masculinity, as opposed to the much hyped mindless action.”

The film went on air on 1 May.

Credits
Agency: Taproot India
Creative Directors: Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi
Writers: Agnello Dias and Pallavi Chakravarti
Account Management: Sameer Aasht, Rahul Megharaj & Maithili Naik
Production house: Soda films
Director: Rajesh Krishnan
Producer: Ameya Dahibavkar
Music director: Amar Mangrulkar