Object Details
- Creator
- Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Topic
- Pepsi-Cola World
- Pepsi-Cola (soft drink)
- Topic
- Advertising agencies
- Ambiguity in advertising
- Marketing
- Music in advertising
- Prize contests in advertising
- Broadcast advertising
- advertising -- Beverages -- 1930-1990
- Advertising writing
- Television advertising
- Product demonstrations
- Youth-oriented advertising
- Slogans
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Pepsi-Cola Company through Rebecca Madiera in 1983. Interviews made for the Smithsonian Institution in 1984 and 1985.
- Creator
- Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- See more items in
- The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection
- Summary
- The Pepsi Generation Collection is the result of an oral history and documentation project conducted in 1984 and 1985 by the Center for Advertising History and supported in part by a grant from the Pepsi Cola Company.
- Biographical / Historical
- In 1983, as part of the 20th anniversary of the "Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi-Cola donated to the Archives Center approximately 200 advertising and promotional items (see collection AC0092). The Archives Center accepted these items and proposed an oral history project to document the "Pepsi Generation" story. The Archives Center embarked upon this project in the spring of 1983. A professional oral historian, Dr. Scott Ellsworth, conducted twenty-nine interviews during 1984 and 1985 with twenty-six people involved in Pepsi advertising, including bottlers, advertising executives, producers, directors, a songwriter, a performer, a publisher, the president of Pepsi, the chairman of the board, and two former Pepsi presidents. The interviews focus primarily on the "Come Alive, You're In The Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi's adoption of youth-oriented advertising, campaign execution, television commercial production, background of the idea for the "Think Young" campaign, and the company's response to the "Pepsi Generation"campaign. The Pepsi Generation Collection is the result of this oral history and documentation project conducted in 1984 and 1985 by the Center for Advertising History and supported in part by a grant from the Pepsi Cola Company.
- Extent
- 7.7 Cubic feet (32 boxes)
- Date
- 1938-1986
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0111
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Audiocassettes
- Commercials
- Interviews
- Oral history
- Videotapes
- Citation
- The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged into five series Series 1: Research Files, 1943-1985 Series 2: Interviewee Files, 1984-1985 Series 3: Oral History Interviews, 1984-1985 Subseries 3.1: Reference Copies, 1984-1985 Subseries 3.2: Master Tapes,1984-1985 Subseries 3.3: Original Tapes, 1984-1985 Series 4: Pepsi-Cola Video, 1946-1988 Subseries 4.1: Reference videos Subseries 4.2: Master Copies Series 5: Pepsi Cola Audio, circa 1970, undated
- Processing Information
- Processed by Carol L. Dreyfus, 1986, and revised by Mimi Minnick, archivist, 1995.
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Several reels of television commercials have been digitized and are available in the Smithsonian Institution Digital Asset Management System (DAMS).
- Genre/Form
- Audiocassettes
- Commercials
- Interviews -- 1980-2000
- Oral history
- Videotapes
- Scope and Contents
- At the core of the "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documention Collection are oral history interviews with individuals involved with Pepsi-Cola and its advertising campaigns. In addition to the oral histories there are research files which include an almost complete run of Pepsi-Cola World, interview abstracts, print advertising, and television commercials from Pepsi's best-known advertising campaigns.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research. One oral history is restricted. Only reference copies of the audiovisual materials may be used. Several reels of television commercials have been digitized and are available in the Smithsonian Institution's Digital Asset Management System (DAMS).
- Record ID
- ebl-1503512028714-1503512028721-0
