Alan Pottasch
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Alan Maxwell Pottasch (August 13, 1927 – July 27, 2007) was an American
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
and marketer best known for his five decades of work for PepsiCo. Specifically, Pottasch is best known as the creator behind the "
Pepsi Generation The Pepsi Generation, is the theme of an advertising campaign for Pepsi-Cola, a US brand of soft drink, that launched in 1963 as the result of a slogan contest. A new car was awarded to the writer of the winning slogan. The contest was the brai ...
"
advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
.


Early life

Alan Pottasch was born on August 13, 1927, on Long Island in New York. He grew up in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Pottasch enlisted and served in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Pottasch enrolled at Pennsylvania State University following World War II. He graduated from Penn State in 1949 with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in
creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
. Pottasch went to a directors school and went on to work at a
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the eart ...
in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, and as a producer-
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
at ABC-TV.


Pepsi

Alan Pottasch began working for PepsiCo in 1957. The year that Pottasch joined PepsiCo,
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
outsold
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...
by a six to one margin in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Under Pottasch, the "
Pepsi Generation The Pepsi Generation, is the theme of an advertising campaign for Pepsi-Cola, a US brand of soft drink, that launched in 1963 as the result of a slogan contest. A new car was awarded to the writer of the winning slogan. The contest was the brai ...
"
marketing campaign Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
was launched in 1963. Pottasch's "Pepsi Generation" marketing campaign has been called groundbreaking because it focused on the "attributes" of the consumers buying Pepsi's products (sometimes called "selling a way of life"), not just attributes of the
product Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...
itself, such as
price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the ...
or
taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...
. This was a very uncommon
marketing strategy Marketing strategy allows organizations to focus limited resources on best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market. Strategic marketing emerged in the 1970s/80s as a distinct field of study, further buil ...
for a company in the early 1960s. The campaign and Pepsi Generation theme was launched and aimed at young
Baby Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...
just as they were becoming an important
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
and demographic group. The campaign was a risk for Pepsi. Years later Pottasch said in a
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
posted on
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's "Giants of Advertising" web site, "For us to name and claim a whole generation after our product was a rather courageous thing that we weren't sure would take off." The risk paid off for both Pottasch and Pepsi. Under Pottasch's campaigns, Pepsi eventually went from behind Coca-Cola, to being on par with Coke in several
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
s. Alan Pottasch changed and slightly tweaked Pepsi's slogan to "The Choice of a New Generation" in 1984. The new theme was meant as a break from the past and show that Pepsi had something new to offer consumers, with an emphasis on
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
. Pottasch developed famous 1980s Pepsi commercials starring Lionel Richie,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, and Madonna. However, he was most well known for developing a series of award-winning Pepsi commercials starring
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. In a famous accident, Jackson's hair caught on
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
while filming one of Pottasch's commercials. He once told a Yahoo podcast, "I guess I'm best known for having burned Michael Jackson's hair." Pottasch eventually produced a large number of Pepsi commercials featuring
Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...
,
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
,
Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...
, Britney Spears and
Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
. Pottasch officially retired from Pepsi in 1991, but continued to work for the company as a consultant. He eventually returned to PepsiCo full-time. He continued to work for Pepsi up to 2007. Alan Pottasch died in his sleep on Friday, July 27, 2007, while on location in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
filming Pepsi's newest Mt. Dew commercial. He was 79 years old. Pottasch was survived by his wife, Lisa Pottasch, his daughter, Allison Pottasch, who lived with him in
New Fairfield, Connecticut New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,579 at the 2020 census. New Fairfield is one of five towns that surround Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut. The town is located nor ...
, son Alan Pottasch Jr, and sister Harriet Selig. A private memorial ceremony was held at PepsiCo's headquarters in Purchase, New York, in September 2007.


References


External links


L.A. Times: Alan Maxwell Pottasch, 79; ad exec who helped create 'Pepsi Generation' campaignAssociated Press obituaryWall Street Journal: Alan Maxwell Pottasch, Creative Father of the 'Pepsi Generation' Turned Lifestyle Into a Selling Point
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pottasch, Alan 1927 births 2007 deaths PepsiCo people American advertising executives Pennsylvania State University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Long Island People from New Fairfield, Connecticut United States Navy sailors