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Jonathan DeMik

Professor Granillo

English 103

5 March 2019

Pepsi, Is It More Than OK?

People around the world love soda, and perhaps the two top contenders on the market are

Pepsi and Coke, which is an feud. With the rise of the advertisement industry, Pepsi and Coke

have taken to the televisions to try and convince audiences of all kinds why their soda is better

than their counterparts. The commercial “More Than OK” features Steve Carell, Cardi B, and Lil

John, all contributing to why Pepsi is better than its Coke contender. In the commercial, Steve

Carell plays a customer who overhears another customers order, stands up and attempts to

convince her why Pepsi is the soda she should be ordering, not Coke. The commercial “More

Than OK” may not appeal to some audiences, like those who are already loyalists to other soda

brands, or the fact that this commercial falls victim to the glittering generalities fallacy. While

this may be the case, the commercial is quite effective in its persuasion tactics by utilizing three

well-known celebrities. Building off this, the commercial is considerably more appealing and

effective due to its witty and well-implemented use of Pathos and Ethos, and carrying a

humorous tone throughout the entirety of the advertisement.

“More Than OK” had implications that it was written to try and persuade the audience to

pick Pepsi over other soda brands, perhaps mostly Coke. The audience seems to be just about

anyone but Coke supporters in particular, which is shown through the lines “I’ll take a Coke”

and the waiter responds “Is Pepsi OK?” (“More Than OK” 00:00:03). This line in the
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commercial plays off the idea that more people like Coke and Pepsi seems to know that and uses

it to the advantage of the commercial. The claim of the commercial is apparent from the start,

and that is Pepsi is a great soda, even the best soda, on the market, and it should be your first

choice in a beverage. This claim is reinforced through heavy use of pathos, which is the strongest

and most apparent rhetorical device used in this advert. While the commercial has a clearly

stated claim, there are those who may disagree with this commercial.

The most obvious reason that some may disagree with “More Than OK” is due to the fact

that they are already hardcore supporters of other soda brands. Many people who like Coke

absolutely despise Pepsi and wouldn’t give it a second glance, which inherently, would make

them ignore this commercial entirely. Another reason that this commercial may receive the cold

shoulder from some viewers is that it is almost completely based on humor and exaggerated

claims, and no actual facts. While this argument makes sense, when it comes to soda choice, it

all boils down to personal preference. Therefore, wanting facts from a soda advertisement is a bit

ludicrous. Another issue some may have with this commercial is that it uses the glittering

generality fallacy, which is when someone uses an emotionally appealing phrase without any

factual backing. This is shown when Steve Carell states that Pepsi is “The best thing you’ve ever

tasted” (“More Than OK” 00:00:20). The commercial does not give any facts or statistics that

prove that Pepsi is actually the best thing you’ll ever taste, but they make the claim regardless,

and some viewers may be discouraged by this fault. “More Than OK” does, however, make

fantastic use of two of the three rhetorical devices, which increase the effectiveness of the ad by

a great margin.
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The most common rhetorical device used in the ad “More Than OK” is Ethos. This

device is used frequently and right from the start of the ad when Steve Carell stands up and

responds to the waiter's question by asking “Are puppies ok? Is a shooting star ok? Is the

laughter of a small child ok?” (“More Than Ok” (00:00:06-10). These three questions are all

phrased as rhetorical questions to make the point that Pepsi is significantly more than ok. The

questions are also asked by the well-known actor, Steve Carell, who plays Michael Scott in the

popular series “The Office”. Throughout 2017-2018 “The Office” was wildly popular among all

groups of people, and Michael Scott was a fan favorite character. Therefore, by using the actor

that portrayed Scott, Pepsi generates an immediate fanbase connection with viewers, and if they

happen to be fans of “The Office”, the audience is more likely to listen to what Pepsi has to say.

Another example of the author using ethos is when Cardi B and Lil Jon enter the scene.

To introduce the two all-stars of the music world, Steve Carell points to Lil Jon who then

says “Okay” in the traditional way that Lil Jon says it in his songs. Cardi B then walks through

the door saying “Okurrr” (“More Than OK” 00:00:36-38). Both of these stars are quite well

known in the music industry, especially Cardi B who is one of the more popular female rap

artists out there in current times. Having such a large, and big-name cast gives Pepsi a large

amount of credibility to the audience without having to back it up with any form of factual

evidence. Pepsi also relies heavily on pathos in their ad.

Pathos is used frequently in the ad “More Than OK”. The author uses many jokes

throughout the duration of the commercial that makes it hard for the viewer not to burst into

laughter. One example of a humorous moment in the commercial is when Steve Carell has the

waiter roleplay with him. Carell says “Lets roleplay” and then snaps his fingers and the scene
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switches around. Carell is then wearing the waiter's outfit and the waiter is only in underwear.

From here the waiter panics and stutters “uhh, I’m Steve and I’m an actor.” (“More Than OK”

(00:00:14-19). Jokes like these, while sometimes irrelevant aside from the humor value, create a

bond between the viewer and the company through an appeal to the sense of humor, and allow

the audience to be more susceptible to the message behind the ad. Thus, opening the opportunity

to persuade further. As stated above, Steve Carell plays the character Michael Scott in “The

Office” and the humor in that show comes from Scotts ability to make everyone severely

uncomfortable due to the statements he makes. This commercial follows that style of humor, by

making Carell have lines that make the majority of the people in the restaurant uncomfortable by

putting them on the spot. This is a way of further connecting to the audience by making Carell

portray the same style of humor that he uses in his other work. The use of pathos in this ad is

quite helpful in making the commercial and main point more convincing.

The only area that “More Than Ok” falls short is on the rhetorical device of logos. The

commercial employs no use of facts or evidence-based backing whatsoever. While this could be

viewed as a flaw, it could also be seen as an intelligent strategy. Soda choice is all based on

personal taste, so showing statistics, like the number of bottles sold worldwide, wouldn't really

sway the viewer in any specific direction. The only facts that Pepsi could present are ones that

would just be meaningless information to the viewer. Pepsi made the right choice by keeping the

commercial ethically and emotionally driven.

Overall, the commercial “More Than OK” was remarkably put together and written quite

well. The jokes were easy to catch and yet they were still witty, which means no viewers would

be left out. The cast was three big-name stars which helps build credibility between Pepsi and the
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audience without much effort or convincing statistical information. “More Than OK” was a

thorough and compelling commercial with a blatantly stated main point backed by many big

names. Is anyone else craving Pepsi?

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Works Cited

Pepsi. ​More Than OK​. Youtube, Jan. 28, 2019