Indiantelevision.com Team

(30 July 2007 5:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Alan Maxwell Pottasch, known as the father of the Pepsi Generation and the creative force behind US beverage conglomerate Pepsi advertising spanning nearly five decades, passed away over the weekend.

Although he officially retired from Pepsi in 1991, Pottasch continued to serve as an active creative consultant to Pepsi-Cola and other PepsiCo divisions. Despite recent health issues, his commitment to his craft and the company and brands he loved guided his life to the very end.

He joined Pepsi in 1957 and devoted his career to marketing and advertising. In the early 1960s, Pottasch was among the first to recognise the coming youth culture, dominated by so-called baby boomers.

Of that era he said, "Pepsi named and claimed 25 million young people for its own with a big, sweeping invitation to live life to its fullest."

The effort shifted the focus of advertising from extolling the virtues of a product to celebrating the lives of its consumers -- in this case, the young at heart, optimistic and vibrant Pepsi Generation.

Launched in 1963, the Pepsi Generation was one of the longest-running, most successful ad campaigns in history. Although initially aimed at Americans, the campaign proved to have universal appeal and resonated with consumers around the world. The phrase remains an important part of today's
global pop lexicon.

Pottasch's Pepsi commercials won more than 60 awards, including the Grand Prix at Cannes. He also produced celebrity commercials, including the musical ads starring Michael Jackson in the 1980s.

Commenting on the winning collaboration that Alan nurtured between Pepsi and its longtime agency partner, BBDO, Phil Dusenberry, formerly chief creative officer of BBDO/North America, said, "The relationship between Alan Pottasch and BBDO was very special. It was an unprecedented alliance that produced over 35 years of award-winning advertising.

"Alan was the keeper of the creative flame, Pepsi's creative conscience, always putting the long-term health of the brands over quick-fix short-term solutions. Every company should be blessed with an Alan Pottasch."

Pottasch was appointed Pepsi senior VP, worldwide creative in 1972, the post he retired from in 1991. Yet he never actually retired. He continued until his death as a creative consultant, formulating ideas, overseeing commercial shoots and documenting how Pepsi's advertising reflected America's cultural and historic trends.

Pepsi's former chairman and CEO Roger Enrico says, "Alan had an extraordinary ability to understand and connect with people, whether they were his family, friends, colleagues or consumers of the brands he loved to market.

"He was a beautiful person - - creative, talented, funny and caring. His passing is a great loss, his memory a great joy to all of us who loved him."

Beyond his advertising impact, early in his Pepsi tenure Pottasch yielded to his love of travel and accepted a stint in the company's international division. He held various management assignments in pre-revolutionary Iran, Latin America and as Pepsi Japan president and CEO.