Today we are going to look at the product Pepsi which is a soft drink. We will examine its history and also analyze an early piece of advertising created to promote the product. Product HistoryPepsi-Cola was introduced during the New Consumer Culture (1880-1920). At this time, a new consumer society emerged, as goods once affordable to a few became accessible to the many. (Sivulka, 2012, p.42) The drink we know today as Pepsi was first created in 1898 by Caleb Bradham and was known as "Brad's Drink" and the drink was sold in the pharmacy he owned. It was later called Pepsi-Cola, named after the digestive enzyme pepsin and the kola nuts used in the recipe. Bradham's goal was to create a fountain drink that would taste great, aid digestion, and increase energy. The first celebrity to endorse Pepsi-Cola was racing driver Barney Oldfield. Oldfield described the drink as "a drink for bullies...refreshing, invigorating, a good pre-race armpit." In the early 1930s, Pepsi-Cola hit rock bottom and filed for bankruptcy due to the Great Depression. Roy C. Megargel, who was a Wall Street broker, purchased the Pepsi brand, business, and goodwill from Craven Holding Corporation for $35,000, and it was named the Pepsi-Cola Corporation (Pepsistore, n.d.). Moving to the 1940s, Pepsi -Cola begins to make its biggest moves in terms of advertising and marketing. In 1940, the Pepsi-Cola Company made advertising history with “Nickel, Nickel,” the first advertising jingle ever broadcast on radio nationwide. World War II had already begun, and in an effort to support the war, Pepsi-Cola had changed its color to red, white, and blue (symbolizing patriotism). In the 1960s, the main target... middle of paper ......t of the product, rather than taking the product and telling the reader about it. When you look at this Pepsi ad, you can clearly understand that it is a soft sell ad. Not only does it sell you a feeling, but it leaves out all the technical details, making it a friendlier, happier ad. (nd). Home PepsiCo. Retrieved February 23, 2014 from http://www.pepsico.com/Company/Our-HistoryPepsi Store - History of the birthplace of Pepsi. (nd). Pepsi Shop - History of the birthplace of Pepsi. Retrieved February 25, 2014 from http://www.pepsistore.com/history.aspSivulka, J. (2012). Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising (2. ed.). Australia :: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.Soft Sell. (nd). Investopedia. Retrieved February 25, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/soft-sell.asp