The Pepsi generation for . . .

Come alive!

When Karen first started in the ad business, she was in the creative department at Ehrlich Harris Manes, an ad agency in Bethesda, MD. One of the people she worked with was a production manager named Lyn Thompson.

Lyn was a pretty smart person and she said something one time about a commercial that stuck with me - and it seems to be true today: "That commercial is the Pepsi Generation for __________________." 

So true today.

For a creative business, we sure do a lot of lookalike work, don't we? On any given evening in front of the TV, you're going to see at least two or three "Pepsi Generation"-type spots. For beer, cars, liquor, wine - jeez for whatever. You could pretty much swap out the logos and nobody would notice. Everybody is young and good-looking and just having so much fun and it's just all so unbelievable, isn't it?

There are variations, like the one below, but they really are all pretty much the same, don't you think? Tired? Been there? Done that?

You have to wonder who is driving all this repetitive stuff. Is it a client who says "I want one of those?" Or a lazy agency who thinks everybody under 30 lives a fantasy life - like from "Friends"?