Archives Center, National Museum of American History Search this
Extent:
7.7 Cubic feet (32 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiocassettes
Commercials
Interviews
Oral history
Videotapes
Date:
1938-1986
Summary:
The Pepsi Generation Collection is the result of an oral history and documentation project conducted in 1984 and 1985 by the Center for Advertising History and supported in part by a grant from the Pepsi Cola Company.
Scope and Contents:
At the core of the "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documention Collection are oral history interviews with individuals involved with Pepsi-Cola and its advertising campaigns. In addition to the oral histories there are research files which include an almost complete run of Pepsi-Cola World, interview abstracts, print advertising, and television commercials from Pepsi's best-known advertising campaigns.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series
Series 1: Research Files, 1943-1985
Series 2: Interviewee Files, 1984-1985
Series 3: Oral History Interviews, 1984-1985
Subseries 3.1: Reference Copies, 1984-1985
Subseries 3.2: Master Tapes,1984-1985
Subseries 3.3: Original Tapes, 1984-1985
Series 4: Pepsi-Cola Video, 1946-1988
Subseries 4.1: Reference videos
Subseries 4.2: Master Copies
Series 5: Pepsi Cola Audio, circa 1970, undated
Biographical / Historical:
In 1983, as part of the 20th anniversary of the "Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi-Cola donated to the Archives Center approximately 200 advertising and promotional items (see collection AC0092). The Archives Center accepted these items and proposed an oral history project to document the "Pepsi Generation" story.
The Archives Center embarked upon this project in the spring of 1983. A professional oral historian, Dr. Scott Ellsworth, conducted twenty-nine interviews during 1984 and 1985 with twenty-six people involved in Pepsi advertising, including bottlers, advertising executives, producers, directors, a songwriter, a performer, a publisher, the president of Pepsi, the chairman of the board, and two former Pepsi presidents.
The interviews focus primarily on the "Come Alive, You're In The Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi's adoption of youth-oriented advertising, campaign execution, television commercial production, background of the idea for the "Think Young" campaign, and the company's response to the "Pepsi Generation"campaign.
The Pepsi Generation Collection is the result of this oral history and documentation project conducted in 1984 and 1985 by the Center for Advertising History and supported in part by a grant from the Pepsi Cola Company.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Beverages
N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency Records
Pepsi-Cola Advertising Collection
Provenance:
Collection donated by Pepsi-Cola Company through Rebecca Madiera in 1983. Interviews made for the Smithsonian Institution in 1984 and 1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. One oral history is restricted. Only reference copies of the audiovisual materials may be used. Several reels of television commercials have been digitized and are available in the Smithsonian Institution's Digital Asset Management System (DAMS).
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
