• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

 
Just a week after abruptly shifting its $1.9 billion media account to Publicis from Omnicom, PepsiCo gave the marketing world another shocker: It began a series of social-media posts hinting that the company was mulling a name change.

It’s not, of course. But like all the best corporate rumors, this one seemed to begin with the office troublemaker, Chester, Cheetos’ too-cool mascot. “We should change the name of PepsiCo,” he posted in a group chat shared on Instagram. “Like, why Pepsi? Why can’t the rest of us get some love?” As more disgruntled mascots weigh in, Chester signs off with, “OK. We’re changing PepsiCo to–.”

A 30-second spot lets all those players make their case in video, from the wholesome potato farmers at Lay’s to Simply NKD’s naked guy to the oddly convincing Mountain Dew fan. It concludes with a simple tagline: “A family of brands. PepsiCo.”

In the campaign announcement, the company explained that while many people buy and consume its brands, only 18% of people associate PepsiCo with brands beyond the namesake Pepsi-Cola, first introduced back in 1898.

The new work is timed to highlight the company’s newly refreshed visual identity across packaging, advertising, and partnerships, including the Super Bowl and Formula 1. And it’s also intended to bring employees “together around the collective strength of OnePepsiCo.”

The House of Brands aims to help consumers connect the company with the more than 500 brands they know and love, ranging from Doritos to Quaker to Gatorade.

The food-and-beverage giant is in the midst of a transformation, tweaking its CPG portfolio as it battles weakness in North American snack and food sales. It’s also looking to modernize its marketing and advertising organization, and said it selected Publicis to help reinvent its global media model as “OnePepsiCo,” powered by data and artificial intelligence, for the next era of marketing.