Chinese consumers write and vote for Pepsi TV ad script

The Pepsi Creative Challenge described in AdAge China was very well crafted:

• Pepsi invited consumers to help develop its next TV commercial at its microsite, pepsi.163.com
• The ad will star Jay Chow, easily the biggest star in China right now
• The 200 word scripts are posted up and site-visitors can vote for them
• Pepsi execs shortlist 15 ads
• Ultimately the user community get to vote for the final winner at the site
• The winning script gets made into an ad which will air in October
• The winner will take home $12,500 (100,000 RMB) and participate in production meetings to help cast the spots and select props and shoot locations.

If you go now to pepsi.163.com you can see the storyboard entries, albeit in Chinese!

The great thing about this contest, and it’s neat voting/selecting design, is that it combines the mass reach of television with the participation of the internet. Many marketers in so-called developing markets still see things simply as traditional vs new, and feel compelled to stick to TV for its reach and low CPMs. But this Pepsi contest shows it doesn’t need to be either-or.