Pepsi has turned
up the heat on rival Coca-Cola in the latest battle to conquer the multi-billion
dollar soft drink market, by signing rapper Pharrell Williams to design a can.
Williams,
along with music stars Big & Rich and the All-American Rejects, are taking
part in Pepsi’s global re-branding efforts. While
the familiar Pepsi logo remains untouched, the background graphics change every
few weeks. "I
was intrigued by this opportunity because it allowed me to be creative and innovative,
which is something that I try to infuse in all of my endeavors," said Pharrell
Williams. Up
until Pepsi’s re-branding efforts, the look of the Pepsi can had only changed
10 times in the company’s 109 year history. This
year alone, the company plans to change the can’s appearance more than 35 times.
For
the first time in history, the company is also allowing a consumer to design the
look of one its cans in the "Design Our Pepsi Can" contest. The
winning design takes home $10,000 in cash and the artwork will be featured on
500 million Pepsi cans across the country.Both
Pepsi and Coca-Cola are utilizing rappers to help boost their bottom lines, which
dropped in 2006 according to industry sales data released last month. In
Mar. Coca-Cola hired rap superstar Jay-Z to redesign a can for its Cherry Coke
Brand. In
2006, the soft drink industry sold over 10 billion cases, down from 10.22 billion
in 2005.To
enter the contest visit: http://www.designourpepsican.com
