I am referring here to that absolutely HORRIFIC HORRIFIC new ad for Pepsi. I am not a fan of the soft drink. But the ad I must say is totally repulsive.

Those twitchy lips on navels ? if anyone at Pepsi is listening ? I have two words: NOT attractive. It does not (even in my wildest nightmare) make me reach out for a bottle of the soft drink. Now, I am not sure whose creative brains are behind this truly unattractive ad, but it leaves me cold and feverish. And if this kind of imagery appeals to you, there must be something wrong with you. Really.

It’s absolutely horrific (okay, I’ve said that before), but it is. I mean, I am actually seeing twitchy lips on navels in my dreams (that turn into a nightmare) and they get bigger and bigger. Finally, they are so big that they look like sharks mouths that can swallow a whole person (actually, they can swallow a whole ship).

What on earth were they thinking?

Now, the new Limca ad on the other hand, makes me actually want to get myself a bottle of ? hold your breath ? LIMCA! Unfortunately though, it’s becoming harder and harder to find Limca in stores nowadays.

Is there any ad you really really hate?

110 thoughts on “What were they thinking?”

  1. Hi Anita,

    Not sure about tha add u are talking about as i’m in melbourne cant see that, so can’t comment on that. Just bumped onto yr blog, found some quite interesting articles. I must admit that i’m bit late on this bandwagon but has started blogging on some of the issues and will do more in future alongwith my technology area.

    Good work.

    Vishal

  3. But the jingle is ultra-catchy! Oye Bubbly, Oy-Oye Bubbly, be my lover bubbly!!!

  6. the ad is really yuck but it seems the jingle is a big hit in bombay…all my friends there have changed their ringtones to the oye bubbly ringtone which y can download to yr mobile.

  7. I whole heartedly agree.

    The ad sucks…. but the jingle is catchy.

    Lots of the local ads (specially on aaj tak) are terrible, but didnt expect this from a main stream product.

  9. stupid ad, i agree. I also kinda hate the mountain dew ad, all these dew ppl can think is to try and screw some1 elses idea. I guess they lack creativity to make a new original 1.

    One ad i really liked is d tata indigo ad…have u seen it?

  10. hey chill – nightmares ?? But do agree – a crap ad and so is the one with the Aamir Khan- Wonder what happened – Pepsi and Coke used to bring out such goodie ads.

    Cheers

  12. First time here at your blog…

    I find the new pepsi ad stupid, not repulsive. How can it be repulsive if it doesn’t make any sense?! At the end of the day, one can wonder what EXACTLY are they promoting?? 🙂

    And the Fair & Lovely ad…I hate them with a passion.

  13. Your navel looks like a mini shark mouth?! 🙂

    I haven’t seen the ad yet, but I think I can understand why,.. now that you and also Twilight Fairy are complaining.

    Ads that I hate… quite a few I guess.. but what stands out is the million times a day the Pepsodent ad would air once upon a time, making me vow never use that brand ever. Sometimes the ad doesn’t HAVE to be bad. Just too much of it would be enough.

  14. how come after having watched so much TV have i missed this ad?

    But i tell you that Walls icecream ad is equally repulsive..i mean why do you have to have sex to sell a product?

  15. Yeah the navels look ugly :$ but the jungle is real cool! i have worked for pepsi on some ads in my previous workplace and most of their ads were cool, but this one just the first part was a bit off! the rest of the ad is ok..

    about using sex for selling items! thats cool.. well if you ask me we could even sell diapers with sex as a theme! nothing wrong in it.. its just how it is presented and when it is aired, should be ethical 🙂

  16. saw it yesterday along with the new coke ad.

    the pepsi ad was kind of wierd. pata nahi kya bol rahe the!!

    bizzare is an understatement for that ad:)

  17. I am in the US, hence have not seen the ad yet.From your expression, seems pretty yucky!

    Few weeks back, Economictimes.com, had a photo article on the “wierdest ads”. I was trying to look for the URL, but could not find it. I shall send it out , if it is cached someplace.

    From my experience Pepsi is very responsive to the consumsers. So if there is backlash, I will not be surprised if it is taken off the air.

    Any way,you can post the pics on your blog?

  18. Here in the west, United Colors of Benetton (UCB) and Calvin Klien (CK) ads are always offensive, most of the times bordering on insanity, similar in taste to what you have described about the pepsi ad.

  19. Yeah. This is a sick ad!

    I dont remember any ad’s that I hate. Maybe I will remember sometime later.

    But I find some adsfunny.

    Like this Narain Karthikeyan- Worlds Fastest Indian, thing. Guess whose silly idea it was to come up with such a pathetic tag line.

    And that funny BSNL ad in which pooja gets married at the bus stop.

  20. I hate the Hamam ad.. where the mom sends the daughter out to buy soap and then starts imagining all sorts of stuff.. WORST ever ad..

  21. There is another pathetic ad on Himani baby oil .. that promises fairness to babies in 6 weeks which makes them win baby beauty pagents !!!

  22. Bingo on that one. I think the Limca advertisement gets a billion points on Cinematography. I’d like to know who the model is, she is pretty good.

  23. I think we should all pray to God so that He would bring vengeance upon those who made this ad. Amen!

  24. Well, the purpose of that ad, like all ads, would have to grab the attention of those that saw it – and I think it was very successful at that. It’s stuck in your mind isn’t it?

  26. Bubly thing WAS indeed disgusting. I think they have taken it off air.

    Fair and Lovely is the worst ever Ad. Downright demeaning.

    Another capmain i hate is New Kingfisher Can Hoardings (Now all around the city)

    The catch line says “Now anybody can”, the AD shows the prices (Rs 25) and shows rather young people with cans.

    The ad i suppose targets young drinking population, I thought. Tying to sell Beer to underage junta.

    Irresponsible!

  27. you are right. My first reaction to that was, hey what is this guy trying to tell…

    it will not live long because i heard Sehwag or one of the cricketers associated with Pepsi ads has served a notice to Pepsi about the “bad taste” it was spreading and hurting their image being associated with them.

  30. not a regular blogger here….nor do i read blogs so much…yeah i was searching ‘bangalore + digital camera’ on google and eventually ended up here.

    i’m just sooo happy that there is somebody out there who is just as DISGUSTED with the bublee ad as i am.it is soo repulsive to me that i’m taking time out to post a comment here to agree with some one…hoping that the more ppl express their dislike..the sooner the ad will be taken off air.

    sure i’m a great SRK fan and the jingle is catchy. despite these the ad is outright repulsive and in poor taste.

    i HATE the big B.never thought that he is this wonderful and talented actor that the popular media and the masses think he is.(alrite he did a good job in the popular quiz show)

    but for some reason i greatly enjoyed the (silly ?!) ‘Why-write-with-a-pen-thatz-not-a parker.WHY ??’ ad.

    ‘ because we like to carry our world with us’ – indigo marina

    ‘dont marry the worst mistake of ur life’ – shaadionline.com

    are great taglines.

    any views on well made ads ??

  31. Sreejith ‘dont marry the worst mistake of ur life’ is jeevansaathi.com and not shaadi.com.. so much for their ‘total recall’ effort! 🙂

  32. Oye Bubbly, Oy-Oye Bubbly, be my lover bubbly!!!

    its an best ringtone now, so plz can u send me that one. coz i live in tripura, i have no way to get it. plz send me that rintone in my mobile, plz.

    from –

    biplab das

  36. Oye Bubbly, Oy-Oye Bubbly, be my lover bubbly!!!

    its an best ringtone now, so plz can u send me that one. plz send me that rintone in my mobile, plz.

  38. Oye Bubbly, Oy-Oye Bubbly, be my lover bubbly!!!

    it is an best ringtone now, so plz can u send me that one. plz send me that rintone in my mobile, plz

    mobile- +91 98451 32230

  42. Oye Bubbly, Oy-Oye Bubbly, be my lover bubbly!!!

    it is an best ringtone now, so plz can u send me that one. my no. is +91 9432109055

  44. The pepsi as is funny, i really like the tune, it so singable. But i dont like the way Aamir is lookin in the coke as, eeekksss. SHAHRUKH is soo adorable.

  45. The pepsi as is funny, i really like the tune, it so singable. But i dont like the way Aamir is lookin in the coke ad, eeekksss. SHAHRUKH is soo adorable.

  46. It is really very good tune.We can find this types of ringtones very rarely.It is just like nescafe ringtone.

  47. ohe bubbly is a very nice ringtone and the way add is made is great and the way sharukh acted is fantastic.

    ohe bubbly ohe bubbly i want 2 b ur man bubbly

  49. Hi Anita

    I am new to your blog.

    About the ad matter-The ad sucks…I find it disgusting but the jingle….. well It sems to have caught the imagination of a many. Very hummable…

    I hate the Hamam ad I mean what sort of message is that sending out…. On the same lones of Fair N Lovely…

    These two mads put down women n make them think they are capable only if they are fair or beautiful…. That is repulsive

    Used to love the hutch ad though i dont see it anymore(maybe because i dont have time to watch tv), and there was an apple drink ad. I forget the name. Liked the concept…. Naughty n made me smile

  50. The ad is still being aired but it looks like the “navel” part has now been deleted from the Oye Bubby ad. Pepsi marketers have finally seen the light!

  54. i love the bubbly ringtone so plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sende me soon.Waiting eagerly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The tune is awesome!!!My no is 9832221650.

  56. i loe this ringtone plz send me this rintone OYE BUBBLY plz. my mobile no is 9934035185 , airtel plz .

    Thanks

    AMIT

  58. Bublee, Bublee…. its my favourite ad I hv ever seen.nothing wrong, indian advertising agencies are having gr8 things to deliver, just cheer up n say BE MY LOVER BUBLEE, I WANNA BE UR MAN.

  60. If anyone of you who are living outside the country wants to watch these ads go to pepsiindia webpage and cokeinida webpage…

    Abt the ad … the lips on the navel looks yucky and disgusting .. but the tune is catchy .. so pepsi managed to salvage sthing out of it ..

  62. hi anita,

    u been kind about the pepsi ad !!

    normally its conceived by prahlad kakkar ( like his infectious laugh though)….

    though Airtel normally comes out with slick ads..the one with shahrukh and sachin is yuck..especially sachin saying: harne hai kya?? …jees sachin should not open his mouth…

    there are so many atrocious ads..that its easier to remember the few gud ones ….

    one of my favs is Hutch (Orange)…at any given time they have a few ads floating around ..so that it does not get repetitive…

  65. 4#c2 16b1 16b1 8#g1 8b1 8b1 16#g1 16#g1 8#f1 8#f1 8#f1 8#g1 8f1 16#f1 16#f1 16#f1 8.#g1 8#g1 8f1 8.f1 8#f1 16#g1 8#a1 8#a1 16#a1 16#a1 8.#a1 16#d1 16#d1 16#d1 8f1 8#f1 2#g1 8f1 16f1 8#f1 8#g1 8#a1 8#a1 16#a1 16#a1 8.#a1 8.#c3 16#c1 8#c1 8#c1 8#c1 4#c1 4#c2 16b1

  66. For all u guys who wanted the Bubbly Ring tone notes :

    4#c2 16b1 16b1 8#g1 8b1 8b1 16#g1 16#g1 8#f1 8#f1 8#f1 8#g1 8f1 16#f1 16#f1 16#f1 8.#g1 8#g1 8f1 8.f1 8#f1 16#g1 8#a1 8#a1 16#a1 16#a1 8.#a1 16#d1 16#d1 16#d1 8f1 8#f1 2#g1 8f1 16f1 8#f1 8#g1 8#a1 8#a1 16#a1 16#a1 8.#a1 8.#c3 16#c1 8#c1 8#c1 8#c1 4#c1 4#c2 16b1

  67. anita, whats your problem. dont like the advert…dont watch it… dont like the soft drink..then dont drink it…but dont diss the advert. its absulutely HEROIC…advert..so SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

  72. sicko ad!tasteless.

    one gd ads:band-aid, with sehwag & the kid whistling

    fairness creams, all lousy.

  77. Hey I am surprised to see so many people not liking the Bubbly Ad, well I think its quite cool. plus the Animations used are also cute. Some ads are just meant to be Fun without any message and this is one of those types. The Jingle is damn catchy. But the voice overs are really innovative, Saif’s voice has not been used ever earlier and the last bit with Sehwag-like voice is the bst part. And hey, it has SRK !! Aur kya chahiye ??

  79. hey, can someone pls send me the bubbly ring tone too?

    98231 79455

    thanks.

  84. please can any 1 send me the oye bubly ringtone 2 my relaince LG RD-2030 handset. my no. is- 9387447010.

  85. can any one send me d OYE BUBLY RINGTONE TO MY NOKIA HANSET-6210. my number is 9895070809

  86. It would be kind of you if you send me the bubbly ring tone?

    My mobile no. 9890572826

    Thanks.

  91. hey, i didn’t find anything repulsive abt the ad.
    infact jus a work of creativity. An ad’s purpose ‘s ultimately to catch attention. and don’t tell me ki showing the navel ‘s a thing of vulgarity. if u gals can flaunt, tatto, pierce .. ur navels donn blame the ad makers.

    jingle’s pretty catchy too. so over all not a bad ad !!

  93. hi plz i the bubbly tone on my reliance mobile.
    my handset is nokia 3105 and my no is 919314481449.

  95. Can anybody send me ringtone oye bubbly to my handset nokia 3310 ( Mobile No 9890602098)

  96. hey anita.i think u are over reacting.there are many more ads that worse than the bubbly one.atleast the pepsi people removed the navel part.there are many ads that don’t even care about what people think about their ad.so cheer up

  97. any one can download ringtone of oye bubbly
    to my mobile 9890602098 nokia

    I will be much greatful to you.

  102. Pl. send me Oye bubbly ringtone – 9840292481…
    Hope you will do that at the earlist…

    Thanks!!!

  104. 4#c2 16b1 16b1 8#g1 8b1 8b1 16#g1 16#g1 8#f1 8#f1 8#f1 8#g1 8f1 16#f1 16#f1 16#f1 8.#g1 8#g1 8f1 8.f1 8#f1 16#g1 8#a1 8#a1 16#a1 16#a1 8.#a1 16#d1 16#d1 16#d1 8f1 8#f1 2#g1 8f1 16f1 8#f1 8#g1 8#a1 8#a1 16#a1 16#a1 8.#a1 8.#c3 16#c1 8#c1 8#c1 8#c1 4#c1 4#c2 16b1

  105. hi guys….
    i know this is too late but … i am absolutely in love with the music in the “Indigo Marina” ad in which the guy takes his gal for a candle light dinner in the car. any one knows which song & whose song is it (if it is a song)??? i would like to download it pleeeeease!!! can’t find it online very easily. SOS

    rgv

  106. hey raghuvansh… guess how i stumbled upon this site.. SEARCHIN FOR THE INDIGO MARINA JINGLE!!! so plz ANYONE… whoever hears this desperate plea from a music freak who’s in LOVE with the song… HELP! u knw.. india doesnt have enough comprehensive ad jingle sites… some1 build one… btw i think it sounds like louis armstrong or some1 like tht… do contact me if u get d song/its name/its artist… i’ll do d same!
    thanks

  107. Hello Diya/ raghuvansh: Coincidently spent the day hunting that song down too and landed here. The song is by Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World.

Comments are closed.

More Stories