Apple To Launch Biggest Ad Campaign Since 1984 With Pepsi

by , 3:15 PM EDT, October 16th, 2003

Apple has teamed up with Pepsi to give away 100 million free iTunes Music Store (iTMS) songs. Starting February 1st, 100 million 20 ounce and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi will have codes under the cap for a free iTMS song. The promotion will kick off with a Super Bowl ad, and will run through March 31st, 2004. Apple's iTunes Music Service has been made available for Windows users, and this promotion is intended to spread the word about the iTMS to both Windows and Mac users.

During today's press event in San Francisco, Steve Jobs made a point in saying that 300 million Pepsi bottles would have iTunes information on them, and that one-in-three would be winners. Mr. Jobs also quipped that Pepsi was going to make a lot of money off the campaign by selling 300 million bottles of Pepsi. This was accompanied by a graphic of rows upon rows of Pepsi bottles, and the press audience gave Mr. Jobs a big laugh. From Apple:

Apple and Pepsi-Cola North America today announced a historic promotion to legally give away 100 million free songs to Mac and Windows PC users from Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Beginning February 1, 100 million winning codes will be randomly seeded in 20 ounce and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and the winning codes will be redeemable for a free song from the iTunes Music Store. Winners will simply go to Apple’s iTunes Music Store (www.iTunes.com), enter the code found under the bottle cap and choose any 99 cent song from the online store’s vast catalog of over 400,000 songs. The Pepsi iTunes promotion will kick-off with a Super Bowl ad on February 1, 2004, and will run until March 31, 2004.

"iTunes has revolutionized the way we buy music," said Dawn Hudson, president of Pepsi-Cola North America. "iTunes provides music fans with a fast, reliable and easy way to get the music they want, when they want it. During the Pepsi iTunes promotion, they will be able to get more of their favorite music for free."

"This historic promotion to legally give away 100 million free songs will go down in history as igniting the legal download market," said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. "Pepsi has marketed their products through music for generations, and this is going to be another one that is remembered for decades."

Apple’s iTunes Music Store revolutionized the online music industry with its groundbreaking personal use rights and one-click download directly into iTunes, Apple’s integrated digital jukebox software--all for just 99 cents per song. Since its launch six months ago, music fans have purchased and downloaded more than 13 million songs from the iTunes Music Store, making it the number one download music service. Apple today launched its second generation iTunes Music Store for both Mac and Windows PC users. With music from all five major music companies and over 200 independent music labels, the iTunes Music Store is growing every day and will offer more than 400,000 songs.

The Pepsi iTunes promotion complements Pepsi’s music initiatives. Pepsi has a long history of integrating music as a core platform in their marketing programs. From Michael Jackson and Madonna to Shakira and Beyoncé, Pepsi has featured the biggest recording artists and a diverse range of chart-topping music in marketing campaigns for decades. PEPSI SMASH, a one-hour wall-to-wall music television show that debuted last summer on the WB TV network and featured live musical performances, is one of Pepsi’s ongoing music initiatives.

The promotion will begin February 1st, 2004 during the Super Bowl.

The Mac Observer Spin:

We think that this campaign will end up being Apple's biggest, in terms of impact, since the 1984 commercial in 1984. It's fitting that it will be officially launched during the Super Bowl. This campaign is going to bring more people to the iTMS, and therefore to Apple, than any other single thing Apple has ever done. We simply can't emphasize this enough.

During the press event in San Francisco, Steve Jobs thanked Jimmy Iovine, the Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, for bringing Apple and Pepsi together for this campaign. That was a master stroke by Mr. Iovine, and one that will pay dividends to his labels, as well as the other members of the Big Five.

We also think it somewhat ironic that the company that gave Apple the CEO (John Sculley) whose tenure eventually resulted in Steve Jobs departing from Apple in the mid-80s will be the same company that helps the iTMS skyrocket to being a major power in the music industry.

That is, of course, if The Beatles don't manage to derail this whole thing with their trademark lawsuit against Apple. We mention that merely to point out that the stakes for Apple are enormous. With the resources Apple is putting into this campaign, the iTMS, and iTunes for Windows, the company will simply not be able to come to any deal with The Beatles that does not allow them to continue in this business.

We'll say it one more time: This campaign is going to do amazing things for Apple.

Apple