Salman Khan meets his past self in Pepsi's latest TVC

Salman Khan meets his past self in Pepsi's latest TVC

Using hi-tech DeepFake technology, the ad spot recreates Khan's popular character from the 90’s.

Salman Khan

Mumbai:  In a bid to double the swag quotient, beverage brand Pepsi has unveiled its latest campaign featuring brand ambassador Salman Khan in a dual role. Bringing back the nostalgia of the 90’s, the TVC showcases the star coming face-to-face with 'Prem,' one of his popular characters from the decade. The TVC will be amplified via a robust 360-degree campaign spanning TV, digital, outdoor, and social media.

The ad film opens out on a bungalow that seems to belong to a 90’s Bollywood film set. The narrative hinges on modern-day Salman bumping into his younger version, Prem and the fun banter that ensues between the two Salmans. Thrilled to see his hunky future avatar, Prem engages Salman in a series of questions to know more about his future self. 

 

 

The brand makes use of hi-tech Deepfake technology to recreate and bring to life the Bollywood character. Sharing his views on the campaign, the director of the ad film Ayappa KM said, “For the first time in Indian advertising, Pepsi has used hi-tech DeepFake technology to resurrect Salman from the 90’s. While it's a throwback to the past, the tech is a peek into the possibilities of the future.”

"My fans have showered love to all my characters over my career, however Prem has held a special place in their hearts as well as mine," said Salman Khan. "It brings me great joy to bring back Prem as a blast from the past with Pepsi for my fans for this new campaign.”

“As a culture-curator, Pepsi has constantly endeavored to bring entertaining campaigns for its consumers through innovative storytelling,” said PepsiCo India category lead- cola Saumya Rathor, on the launch. “With Bollywood being a key consumer passion point in India, this new campaign takes the Swag narrative several notches higher by featuring not one but two Salman Khans. For the first time in Indian advertising, we have leveraged hi-tech deep fake technology to recreate one of the most iconic characters of Indian cinema. We are confident that this campaign will resonate strongly with our consumers, given the entertainment quotient in this film.”

"We felt an instant rush when the brief landed on the table - to create a big summer campaign for one of the most legendary brands on the planet, featuring the biggest superstar in the country. Cliched as it may sound, we wanted to break category codes and push all the P's of marketing to its absolute limit.  It was a delight working with those who backed us to the hilt with this idea," the film’s writer Devaiah Bopanna commented.