MAM
Pepsi US counting on the dark Star Wars force to build brand connect
MUMBAI: Pepsi in the US is counting on the dark force to help it build up a stronger brand connect with the consumer. In conjunction with the 19 May release of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Pepsi-Cola North America has announced that it will run an online promotion and a new Diet Pepsi commercial. Both will center around everyone’s favourite Jedi Master — Yoda.
In addition, Pepsi will partner with 7-Eleven to offer Darth Dew Slurpee and four limited-edition 3-D cups at participating stores across the US. From 18 April Pepsi drinkers and Star Wars fans have three ways to play the Call Upon Yoda instant-win sweepstakes — online, by phone, or by text messaging — to see if they’ve won one of ten $100,000 grand prizes. Other prizes include Star Wars toys and games from Hasbro and Lego and free 2-liter bottles of Pepsi Lime. The sweepstakes will also bring fans closer to the film characters, Yoda, Darth Vader, C3PO and R2-D2 through web-based interactive games and phone and text messaging programmes.
Yoda will encourage fans to achieve success via the Jedi Training Games and the Intergalactic Translator at the sweepstakes Web site.
The film’s character Yoda also stars in a new Diet Pepsi commercial called Jedi Mind Trick. The spot is scheduled to begin airing in May and features the same award-winning special effects that ILM creates for Star Wars. Set in a diner, Yoda sits at the counter and uses the Force to try to get a Diet Pepsi to drink with his meal. A special appearance by the famous Wookiee, Chewbacca, ends
the spot with typical Pepsi humour. The commercial was created by BBDO New York.
As far as new beverage drinks are concerned Darth Dew Slurpee will be available at participating 7-Eleven stores across the US in May. Mountain Dew Pitch Black is the popular limited-edition soda that combines the great taste of Mountain Dew with a blast of black grape flavor. Darth Dew Slurpee is modeled after Mountain Dew Pitch Black and will be served in four different Episode III collectible 3-D cups with lids shaped like the head of Darth Vader.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
