For Holiday Ads, Nothing Says Tradition Like Cardi B's Twerk Shop (Published 2019) – The New York Times

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Multimillion-dollar seasonal campaigns like Pepsi’s were a TV standard, but fewer companies are making a big splash beyond their usual digital strategies.
By Tiffany Hsu
In a 22nd-floor suite of the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan, sipping a nonalcoholic sparkling rosé from Pepsi, I was waiting for Cardi B to talk to me about Christmas.
The Grammy-winning rapper stars in Pepsi’s new holiday commercial. It is set in Cardi’s Twerk Shop, where Cardi B offers twerking tips to an elf as a jingle plays.
Here comes Cardi B
Here comes Cardi B
She’s gonna make it rain
When she arrived for the interview, she seemed exhausted. She curled up on the couch, bundled herself in a blanket and laid her head near my lap. She talked about the commercial, which went online on Thursday, saying the outfit she wore during filming was edited in postproduction to mask some of her cleavage.
“Can you believe that?” Cardi B said. “I didn’t even feel like it was a lot.”
In an advertising environment that has shifted toward targeted online ads, Pepsi’s multimillion-dollar campaign — with its celebrity spokeswoman, its elaborate sets, and a planned broadcast rollout during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and several N.F.L. games — is really something of a throwback.
These days, companies need to reach people who are flipping through their phones, looking to get 10 percent off their next shoe purchase. Their seasonal ads are a long way from the campaigns that helped shape the American idea of Christmas.
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