Pepsi film fizzing as fans queue at box office

A scene from the film, "Uncle Drew.". PHoto / AP

Nearly 1.7 million people saw the movie Uncle Drew during its opening weekend, paying money to watch what some consider to be an hour-and-45-minute-long Pepsi commercial. But experts say that it likely won't be the last time we can expect consumers to pay to see so-called branded content.

The film, which Pepsi co-produced, features the company's logo prominently in some scenes and centres the plot on a character who is synonymous with the beverage maker's online ad campaign.

What makes branded content different from other kinds of advertising is that it does not have a sales message, said Mara Einstein, author of Black Ops Advertising.

Instead of selling, branded content informs and entertains. "The goal at the end of all this is when you need to go out to buy this product, you'll buy from [the brand]," Einstein said. "But it's a longer time frame."

Brands have been working in this space for a long time, Einstein said, dating back to the advent of soap operas. The serialised daytime dramas were frequently sponsored by companies selling household cleaning products to homemakers.

Since then, branded content has expanded to follow viewers wherever they are - in video games, movies, television shows, web-based videos, tutorials and more.

The Uncle Drew journey from YouTube to advertising campaign to full-length feature film began in 2012 when NBA star Kyrie Irving first took on the role as the basketball-playing septuagenarian Uncle Drew. The first video, written and directed by Irving, attracted over 50 million views on Pepsi's YouTube channel. A number of sequels followed, adding to the roster basketball pros such as Kevin Love, Nate Robinson, Maya Moore, Baron Davis and Ray Allen.

Uncle Drew's embodiment of all things street ball, such as good-humoured trash-talking and performative one-upmanship, adds an authenticity that a traditional advertisement wouldn't be able to provide, said Jay Tucker, executive director of the UCLA Anderson Centre.

The film cost studio Lionsgate less than US$20 million ($29m) to produce before marketing, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Compare the money it cost to produce Uncle Drew to the US$5m Pepsi paid for a 30-second Super Bowl ad this year, Einstein said.