Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
In the best of times, brands help make pop culture. Those instances are few and far between, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fast followers.
Pepsi is jumping on the recent Internet Harlem Shake fad, which is the latest song/dance style that has become a video meme. The whole trend was inspired by the dance song “Harlem Shake” by Baauer, and much like Psy’s “Gangnam Style” did, this song has spawned a ton of different viral Harlem Shake dance videos all over the Internet. Collectively they’ve generated at least 44 million YouTube views — a certified Web hit. You can see a collection of some of the best ones here.
That didn’t escape the notice of Pepsi, a brand built on its close ties to popular culture. In this day and age, popular culture and Internet culture overlap to the point where they’re pretty much the same thing. The key with Internet culture is speed. Gangnam Style was cool until very suddenly it was not. Pepsi agency Deep Focus moved fast — the Harlem Shake meme started to gain traction in a big way in the past week — and came up with its own twist, “Do The Pepsi Shake.” The video explains what it is.
Is it the coolest thing anyone has seen? No. But it is cool to see brands trying to be a part of fun viral Web trends. As we’ve seen with Oreo during the Super Bowl, acting fast is absolutely critical for brands these days. Deep Focus is betting on this trend with its Moment Studio, designed as a way to help clients move at the speed of digital culture.
More in Marketing
Star power, AI jabs and Free Bird: Digiday’s guide to what was in and out at the Super Bowl
This year’s Big Game saw established brands lean heavily on star power, patriotic iconography and the occasional needle drop.
In Q1, marketers pivot to spending backed by AI and measurement
Q1 budget shifts reflect marketers’ growing focus on data, AI, measurement and where branding actually pays off.
GLP-1 draws pharma advertisers to double down on the Super Bowl
Could this be the last year Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hims & Hers, Novartis, Ro, and Lilly all run spots during the Big Game?