Pepsi film sparkles as fans line up at the box office

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Nearly 1.7 million people saw the film Uncle Drew during its opening weekend, paying money to watch what some people see as a Pepsi advertisement of one hour and 45 minutes. But experts say it will probably not be the last time that consumers will pay to see what is called branded content.

The film, co-produced by Pepsi, highlights the company's logo in certain scenes.

What sets brand content apart from other types of advertising is that it has no sales message, says 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 have to go out to buy this product, you will buy from [the brand]," said Einstein. "But it's a longer delay."

Trademarks have been working in this space for a long time, said Einstein, dating back to the advent of soap operas. Serial drama was often sponsored by companies selling household products to housewives.

Since then, branded content has been developed to follow viewers wherever they are: video games, movies, TV shows, web videos, tutorials, and more.

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

The incarnation of Uncle Drew of all the street balloon, as the good mood Jay Tucker, executive director of the Anderson Center of UCLA, added that the film was costing less than $ 20 million ($ 29 million) at Lionsgate Studio. produce before commercialization, according to Hollywood Reporter .

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