2016 Super Bowl Commercials: Janelle Monae stars in latest ‘Joy of Pepsi’ ad

Pepsi is one of the most iconic brands advertising during Super Bowl Sunday, and they have a rather great idea at this point of what works. What they do here is rather simple: They take some memorable performers, put them in a commercial, and then find a way to surround them with some magic.

So is Janelle Monae the ideal new spokesperson for the company? Take a look in our new commercial review below.

The idea – Janelle dances through a few different time periods, showing the history of music and also the timeless nature of Pepsi as a beverage. At the end, you hear the classic “The Joy of Cola” song before Monae takes a drink.

What works – We like the fact that Pepsi stuck with something very visual in this ad. Everyone knows that Monae wouldn’t actually be singing, so it makes sense to focus more on the dancing, which is something that she is also equally skilled at. She’s a great person in particular to promote the product, given that she’s incredibly distinctive and someone off the beaten path compared to past choices.

What doesn’t – Is this the most innovative Pepsi commercial in the world? Probably not. It’ll have people watching it here and there on YouTube, but for the most part it’ll be seen as a rather safe ad rather than one that’s doing anything different.

Overall Grade – B. It’s great for the Pepsi brand to be consistent, but is this almost too consistent for the product’s own good?

To see some other ads and impressions from Super Bowl Sunday, be sure to head over to this link right now! Also, sign up over here to get some more TV news on everything we cover at the site, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Pepsi.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vBUZ_56oIY