Three spanish speaking countries: Argentina, Mexico and Spain. All joined by the common ground of language, and often found to mispronounce English based labels, such as “Nike”, or in this case: “Pepsi”. A marketing campaign was launched by PepsiCo in Argentina back in 2009 responding to local pronunciation, and renaming the brand to “Pecsi”, an easier name according to Spanish phonetics. These ads became so popular that they were introduced in Spain a year later, this time completely obliterating the “p”.

Along with this, Fernando Torres lead the campaign with a TV ad in which he is told off by an English speaking director for “mispronouncing” the brand name, deeming this to be a common error that should be celebrated as a distinction between cultures. Fernando Torres and “Pesi”

The evoked humor brought positive feedback from consumers, even more so as the price for the product was reduced, claiming that “it doesn’t matter how you say it, you are saving either way”. Of course, PepsiCo saw a great opportunity in targeting colloquial differences and creating a sense of connection with its consumers.

This campaign grew so much that it finally landed in Mexico, and surprisingly enough it did not have the same effect as it did in the other two countries. The TV ads were almost identical, and in the end the commercials were under scrutiny by the public eye and social media, “Pecsi” labeled cans fading from existence. In the end, it seems that not all marketing strategies are applicable to certain groups, and PepsiCo should have been more careful in implementing such ideas within the market.

Sources:

http://adage.com/article/global-news/marketing-spain-pepsi-pesi/141916/