Tag: automotive

Pepsi Max: Test Drive

Last year in March, Pepsi Max along with professional stock car racing driver Jeff Gordon performed a prank on an unsuspecting car salesman by taking him on a test drive of his life. Here, a “prank” is a designed real-world setup filmed to capture reactions, not a fully scripted spot.

The video since then got over 41 Million views on YouTube. Despite its viral success, automotive journalist Travis Okulski was not impressed and was pretty vocal in pointing out inconsistencies in the viral ad and calling it a fake.

So Jeff Gordon teamed up again with Pepsi Max to pull a similar prank on unsuspecting Travis Okulski, just to prove the authenticity of the original test drive video…

But even after all of that Travis Okulski is still not convinced and the video since its release last week has already gotten over 13 Million views on YouTube.

The real question is what you do when a viral stunt becomes a public authenticity debate.

Why this became a two-part story

The first video worked because the premise is simple, the escalation feels real, and the payoff is pure reaction. But the moment it went viral, it also invited scrutiny. Because the setup looks “too good to be true”, it triggers a verification instinct, which is why people rewatch, share, and interrogate the details. That is what makes the follow-up so interesting. The brand turned criticism into content by making the skeptic part of the narrative.

Extractable takeaway: When your entertainment idea can be framed as “real or staged”, plan a proof-driven sequel path up front, so the debate extends the platform instead of draining trust.

  • Viral hook. A familiar setting, then a sudden reveal of unexpected capability.
  • Credibility challenge. A public critique that reframed the conversation as “real or staged”.
  • Response as sequel. A second execution aimed at the critic to re-earn belief.

In mass-reach consumer campaigns, “real or staged” scrutiny is part of distribution, so the sequel has to protect credibility without changing the core promise.

What to learn from the backlash

If doubt becomes the headline, leaning in with credible proof beats going quiet. When stunts travel, authenticity becomes part of the product. If the audience starts debating “is it real”, the brand can either go silent or lean in. Pepsi Max leaned in and used the debate as fuel, which extended the lifecycle and kept attention anchored to the same brand platform.

  • Design for verification. Build in moments that can withstand frame-by-frame scrutiny.
  • Turn skeptics into structure. If a credible critic challenges you, make the response the next chapter, not a defensive footnote.
  • Keep the platform constant. Address doubts without drifting into a different promise or tone.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Pepsi Max “Test Drive” with Jeff Gordon?

It is a prank-style stunt video where Jeff Gordon takes an unsuspecting car salesman on an extreme test drive, created as part of Pepsi Max’s viral entertainment approach.

Why was there controversy around the first video?

An automotive journalist publicly pointed out inconsistencies and argued it was staged, which sparked debate about authenticity.

Why did Pepsi Max do a second video?

To address the credibility debate directly by repeating a similar stunt and making the outspoken critic part of the execution.

What is the transferable pattern for viral campaigns?

Expect scrutiny, especially when the content looks “too good”. If doubt becomes the story, design a credible sequel that engages the criticism rather than ignoring it.

Lexus ES: Print Ad That Comes Alive on iPad

You are flipping through Sports Illustrated and a Lexus ES print ad starts behaving like a screen. The car appears to change color, its headlights flare on, the interior reveals itself, and the whole moment syncs to music.

On a number of occasions I have featured examples of brands creating interactive print ads. By “interactive print ad”, I mean a print page that becomes dynamic when paired with a tablet, with the page acting as the interface and the screen supplying light and motion. Here, the new Lexus 2013 ES is seen changing colors, turning on its headlights and exposing its interiors while music plays in this interactive print ad for the Oct. 15 Sports Illustrated issue.

Paper as a “display”

The trick is not that the magazine suddenly has electronics inside it. The page becomes a physical overlay, and the motion comes from a second screen underneath it. Place the ad over an iPad while the matching Lexus ES video plays, and the printed ink acts like a mask that makes the animation feel like it is happening on the paper itself.

An interactive print ad is a print execution that becomes dynamic when paired with a second screen, using the page as the interface and the tablet as the light and motion source.

In premium automotive marketing and magazine environments, this approach keeps the experience on the page while still delivering the “wow” of moving imagery.

Why this beats the usual print-to-digital handoff

Most interactive print ideas send you away from the page via QR codes, short links, or app installs. This one does the opposite. It pulls the digital layer into the print moment, so the reward arrives immediately and visually, without asking the viewer to leave the ad context.

Extractable takeaway: When a medium is already in someone’s hands, bring the digital layer into that moment instead of routing people elsewhere.

What Lexus is buying with this execution

This is not primarily a spec demo. It is a perception demo. The real question is whether the format makes “advanced technology elevated by style” feel true before the viewer even reads the copy. The ES positioning is “advanced technology elevated by style”, and the format reinforces that promise by making a traditionally static medium feel newly technical. The ad itself becomes proof of the claim.

Stealable moves for interactive print

  • Keep the interaction on the page. If you can deliver the payoff in the same frame, attention holds.
  • Use a familiar object as the interface. A magazine page is intuitive. No learning curve.
  • Design one signature reveal. Headlights, interior, color shift. Pick the one moment people will retell.
  • Make it work in low light. If the illusion depends on contrast, design the experience so it still reads in real life.

A few fast answers before you act

How does this “interactive print ad” actually work?

The print page is placed over an iPad while a synced video plays underneath. The page acts as a mask, so the animation appears to live on the paper.

Is the interactivity coming from electronics inside the magazine?

No. The motion, light, and sound come from the tablet. The magazine page provides the physical overlay and the illusion of print moving.

Why is this more engaging than a QR code in a print ad?

The payoff is immediate and stays on the page. QR flows add steps and send the viewer away, which increases drop-off.

What is the brand advantage of doing it this way?

The medium becomes the message. The execution demonstrates “technology plus design” through the experience itself, not just through copy.

What is the key execution risk?

If alignment, lighting, or setup friction is too high, the illusion breaks and the viewer quits before the reveal lands.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Test Drive

Goodyear does not try to “tell” you that a tire grips better. They stage a test drive that makes you feel it.

A customer walks into a Goodyear retail store expecting the usual sales conversation. Instead, a salesperson offers a test drive. The customer gets into a performance car with what looks like a normal driver. Then the drive turns into a controlled, choreographed, Hollywood-grade demonstration. The driver is a disguised stunt professional. The “test route” includes conditions that exaggerate what traction and control actually mean when things get unpredictable.

That single choice is the unlock. The product story is no longer a brochure. It is an experience.

Goodyear describes this execution as entertainment built around retail-store proof for its Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season line, often referred to as “Control Freak”. The point is not the stunt. The point is that grip becomes a felt outcome, not a claim.

The core move

Goodyear turns a retail test drive into entertainment that proves performance.

The real question is: how do you turn an “invisible” performance claim into belief at the moment intent is forming.

How the proof is staged

The stunt is engineered as a sequence of “proof moments” that escalate. The customer starts in a familiar retail context, then the driver introduces controlled chaos where traction and handling show up as outcomes you can feel. Because the demo is structured around cause and effect, the viewer does not need tire expertise to understand what is being proven.

In enterprise marketing organizations where retail, brand, and performance teams operate in different rhythms, retail-first proof content is one of the fastest ways to shorten the distance between awareness and intent.

Why this works so well

Most tire marketing struggles with the same problem. Performance is hard to visualize until you are already in a situation where you need it. “Better grip” sounds like every other claim until something slips.

Extractable takeaway: When a benefit is hard to evaluate in everyday life, do not buy more media to repeat the claim. Engineer one credible moment where the benefit becomes undeniable, then scale that moment through video.

This activation removes that abstraction by doing three things at once. Here, “activation” means a real-world, point-of-sale experience designed to prove one product claim with live human reaction and camera-ready structure.

  1. It makes proof visible.
    The story is designed around moments where traction and handling show up as a physical result. You do not need to understand tread compounds to understand what you just felt.
  2. It creates real human reaction.
    A staged product demo can feel like a stunt. A real customer reaction makes it believable, and shareable, at the same time.
  3. It anchors the brand in the point of sale.
    This is not a distant TV spot. The narrative starts inside the tire store. The purchase context is baked into the content, so the jump from awareness to intent is shorter.

The “retail first” storytelling pattern

A lot of experiential marketing starts with spectacle, then tries to connect it back to the product.

This one starts with the most ordinary commercial moment. A customer is about to buy tires. Then the experience expands outward. That sequencing keeps the brand motive clear. This is not adrenaline for its own sake. It is a dramatic way to demonstrate a benefit that is otherwise invisible.

If your category is dominated by price and familiarity, you win by making functional proof unignorable. You do not win by shouting “better” louder.

The deeper point

This is a category where functional proof usually loses to price promotions and familiarity. Goodyear flips that by turning functional proof into an event.

It is a reminder that “performance marketing” does not always mean dashboards and retargeting. Sometimes it means engineering a moment where the product benefit cannot be unseen.

What to borrow if you run marketing or commerce

  • Design for “proof moments,” not messages. Write down the one thing a customer must believe for your product to win. Then define the single moment they would need to see, feel, or experience for that belief to become non-negotiable.
  • Build the experience around the buying context. Placing the opening scene in a retail outlet removes friction. The story is already where the decision happens. For many categories, that is the most underrated advantage.
  • Treat the camera as a distribution strategy. The activation is designed to be filmed. Multiple angles. Real people. A sequence that escalates. In practice, the video becomes the scalable media layer on top of a physical stunt.
  • Make the customer the hero, not the brand. The most memorable part is not a feature list. It is the reaction. The brand earns attention by giving the customer an experience worth talking about.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the campaign actually demonstrating?

It demonstrates traction and handling by forcing controlled situations where grip and stability show up as physical outcomes, not claims.

Why stage it in a retail store instead of a track?

Because the purchase decision lives in retail. The story starts where intent is highest, so the proof is already in the buying context.

What makes this feel credible instead of gimmicky?

Real customer reactions plus a clear cause-and-effect link between the stunts and the product promise. The entertainment serves the proof.

What is the repeatable lesson for other categories?

Find your “invisible benefit,” create a safe way to make it visible through one engineered proof moment, then film it so it scales beyond the physical experience.

When does this approach fail?

When the experience is spectacle with no causal link to a product benefit. If you cannot explain what is being proven in one sentence, you are buying attention, not belief.