• by John Gaffney , February 6, 2003

Better Check The Wack Attack: Pepsi has not gone “wack” with the hip-hop generation, as some published reports have suggested. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, led by DefJam mogul Russell Simmons, is talking boycott for the NBA All-Star weekend in Atlanta. All this because Pepsi chose the slurry vulgar Osbournes as spokespeople, after it dropped hip-hop artist Ludacris (a sharp and vulgar rapper) as a spokesperson. Two things are very important to point out here. One, I don’t know what the Simmons group is trying to prove. If it’s some kind of racism, they better check that because Pepsi has been in the forefront of celebrity marketing for years and has never been shy about picking one based on color. Calling Pepsi racist is about as accurate as Michael Jackson calling former Sony president Tommy Mottola racist. The second point here, is that Pepsi has made a key mistake after a long run of big marketing hits. Pepsi has arguably done a better job of any brand in keeping its marketing humorous, attractive and edgy. Hip-Hop can do that. Hip-Hop also has an aggressive side, just like early folk music and rock’n roll. I think that aggression results in some extremely compelling music (Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Naughty By Nature etc). It does not however, make a good brand communication vehicle. See you at the Academy Awards with Beyonce Knowles. Now Pepsi has something to prove.

Creating Monsters: Jesse Ventura will do well at the beginning of his run on MSNBC. Here’s what concerns me. We keep making politicians out of celebrities and celebrities out of politicians. That blends news and entertainment too closely. I think the cable news channels need to consider this. Next, we will get celebrity activists hosting talk shows. An opinion is something you’re entitled to. But hosting your own show should be a weightier matter.

Parting Shot: Vogue is rethinking its position on “plus-sized” models in its pages. Those “plus-sized” people are normal-sized women. We have created the perception that supermodels are normal. Let’s see if advertisers follow the trend.