Iconic Ads: Pepsi – Yehi Hai Right Choice Baby A-Ha!

It was the early 90s when liberalization had started. The attitude of the youth had changed from planning for the future to living for now. They did not want to go the conventional routes. They formed opinions of their own.

Pepsi had been launched in India with Thums Up being the number 1. And India was on Coca Cola’s radar. Pepsi wanted to differentiate itself from the other cola brands and did not want to be just another cola.

The first commercial which announced the launch of Lehar Pepsi was a teaser and had the line ‘Are you ready for the magic’. Juhi Chawla danced to Remo Fernandes’ tunes. It had a huge impact but the time was ripe to move to the next level.

“Yehi hai right choice baby, a-ha” became the most memorable commercial in 1992. It had the right amounts of Western and Indian influences, so while it was international and did not forget its roots, it was Indian enough!

It was based on the “You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh Huh” campaign for Diet Pepsi in North America from 1990 to 1993, featuring singer Ray Charles, surrounded by models!

The campaign waylaid the whole process of decision-making about the choice of soft drink brand, by proclaiming with all youthful brashness “Yehi hai right choice baby”.

It seemed to usurp the choice of a carbonated drink brand, by proclaiming that it was the right choice in a manner that was self-confident and bold (which appealed to the youth)

Mehernosh Shapoorjee guided by Abhinav Dhar had a hand in creating the commercial at JWT and Mukul Anand directed this commercial.

Remo played the synthesizer for this TVC and also sang this along with Penny Vaz, a budding singer then. Shankar Mahadevan also chipped in.

The TVC with all its glamour and the snazziness with it was a grand affair intentionally to create a huge impact. Pepsi went over budget on this TVC but in the end, it was worth it!