Pepsi’s silent Super Bowl ad was Plano man’s idea <\/p>\n
Friday, January 25, 2008 <\/p>\n
By KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS \/ The Dallas Morning News <\/p>\n
krobinson@dallasnews.com <\/p>\n
PepsiCo Inc. is hoping to make some noise with a Super Bowl ad
\nfeaturing 60 seconds of silence. <\/p>\n
During the Fox network’s pregame show on Feb. 3, the nation’s
\nsecond-largest soft drink maker will air a commercial conceived by a
\nPepsiCo employee, starring him and three others, including two who
\nare deaf. <\/p>\n
PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., owns Plano-based Frito-Lay Inc. It
\nwill sponsor the closed captioning of the big game. <\/p>\n
In “Bob’s House”\u0013 a takeoff on a popular joke in the deaf community \u0013
\nthe actors\/employees communicate using sign language. Viewers can
\nfollow the story line through captions. <\/p>\n
The commercial is the brainchild of Clay Broussard, a supply chain
\nmanager based in Plano, who is also a member of the company’s EnAble
\nemployee group. <\/p>\n
With about 500 members, EnAble aims to promote “a more inclusive
\nenvironment for people with disabilities,” the company said. <\/p>\n
Mr. Broussard, 46, said Thursday he sees the Super Bowl commercial as
\na way to promote both diversity and products from his employer of 27
\nyears. <\/p>\n
“We think it will be funny and be talked about the next day,” said
\nMr. Broussard, who came up with the idea in 2006 and took a demo tape
\nlast year to his boss, John Phillips. Mr. Phillips presented the idea
\nto management, which gave the green light for the professionally done
\nversion that debuts next Sunday. <\/p>\n
Mr. Broussard appears in the commercial along with colleagues Darren
\nTherriault and Brian Dowling, who are deaf. It also includes
\nDallas-based employee Sheri Christianson, whose parents are deaf. <\/p>\n
The ad shows Mr. Therriault and Mr. Dowling trying to find the home
\nof their friend Bob. They have the street but neither knows the house
\nnumber. Their solution: Make enough noise to attract the attention of
\nBob’s neighbors who can hear. The home where no one responds must be
\nBob’s. <\/p>\n
PepsiCo said it consulted with the National Association of the Deaf
\nwhile producing the commercial. <\/p>\n
While deaf actors and actors using sign language have appeared in
\ncommercials for decades, advertising executive Steve McKee said he
\ncould not think of a similar Super Bowl ad. <\/p>\n
“It’s a highly unusual tactic and an interesting one for the Super
\nBowl,” said Mr. McKee, president of Albuquerque, N.M.-based McKee
\nWallwork Cleveland, which sponsors an online Super Bowl ad rating
\nsite called AdBowl. <\/p>\n
“Any time you can do something to break the convention, that’s
\nreally, really smart.” <\/p>\n
As it has for the past 22 years, PepsiCo also will have ads during
\nthe game. The company’s beverage side has two minutes of air time but
\nhas not unveiled its commercials, a spokeswoman said. <\/p>\n
Frito-Lay will have one 60-second spot promoting Doritos. The ad will
\nbe a music video featuring this year’s “Doritos Crash the Super Bowl”
\ncontest winner, selected by voters online. <\/p>\n
Link:
\nhttp:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sharedcontent\/dws\/bus\/stories\/012508dnbuspepsi.8fd9d7.html<\/p>\n
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Pepsi’s silent Super Bowl ad was Plano man’s idea Friday, January 25, 2008 By KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS \/ The Dallas Morning News krobinson@dallasnews.com PepsiCo Inc. is hoping to make some noise with a Super Bowl ad featuring 60 seconds of silence.…<\/p>\n