A Throwback Pepsi Polaroid Camera Designed for Generation Next
When creating a list of legendary American brands, it’s hard to not immediately think of Pepsi. Cola fans have been drinking Pepsi for well over 100 years, and thirsty people can find it in just about any grocery store, gas station or soda machine in the U.S. Pepsi’s red, white and blue logo is instantly recognized all around the world — and the cola’s cool, crisp taste is instantly energizing.
Whether you’re a die-hard Pepsi drinker or not, we promise you’ll find our latest collaboration refreshing. We’ve teamed up with Pepsi and Polaroid to create the Polaroid 600 Pepsi Instant Film Camera, a vintage-inspired instant camera created by our team of camera connoisseurs here at Retrospekt!
Built using refurbished internal components — sourced directly from vintage Polaroid instant cameras made in the 1980s and ‘90s — and wrapped in a freshly molded blue exterior designed to the exact same specifications as the original Polaroid 600 camera bodies, the Polaroid 600 Pepsi camera features a brand new design that celebrates the joy of Pepsi's iconic branding from years past.
Believe it or not, this isn’t Pepsi’s first time in the instant film spotlight. “In the 1980s, Polaroid produced a limited number of cameras that made use of the then-current Pepsi branding,” says Michael Kempen, our Creative Director. “As the years go by, they’re becoming increasingly difficult to find — but demand is still high.” The ongoing interest in vintage Pepsi Polaroid cameras is just one reason we’re excited about this collaboration. We’re also eager to work with Pepsi because of the brand’s extensive history and unmatched place in pop culture.
Pepsi was created by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in 1893 to soothe stomach aches, but its popularity really took off during the Great Depression, when it was sold in 12-ounce bottles for just five cents (twice as much soda as competitors offered in their paltry six-ounce bottles). Touting Pepsi as “twice as much for a nickel,” Pepsi scored a major hit with its “Nickel, Nickel” radio jingle in 1940. It became the first-ever radio jingle to be broadcast coast to coast.
During the second half of the 20th century, Pepsi refocused its attention on the younger crowd, dubbed “the Pepsi Generation.” In the 1980s, Pepsi began a series of successful partnerships with some of the biggest names in entertainment, like Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Michael J. Fox. Celebrity partnerships would soon become a major part of Pepsi’s brand identity.
In 1992, Pepsi released a now-iconic Super Bowl commercial featuring Cindy Crawford drinking from a redesigned Pepsi can. As Crawford takes a sip, one of the commercial’s pint-sized protagonists asks, “Is that a great new Pepsi can, or what?” With their name rendered in bold, oblique characters and an energetic red band propelling the classic circle logo upward, Pepsi once again signaled they were the forward-thinking cola brand.
When designing our updated version of the Pepsi Polaroid camera, we took inspiration from Pepsi’s 1992 logo redesign to ensure the new camera wasn’t just a carbon[ated] copy of its 1980s counterpart.
“When we went to create a new camera with a throwback feel, we didn’t want to rehash what the original camera had already done,” says Kempen. “Pepsi has always had a really strong supporting graphic style that goes beyond just soda cans. For us, the period in the early-to-mid ‘90s stuck out as a prime example of this. And, since Polaroid was still producing this style of camera into the ‘90s, it means these logos and brand elements are an authentic fit for the camera’s original era.”
Retrospekt’s new Polaroid camera features authentic, throwback Pepsi and Polaroid graphics layered on a striking blue body, true to the original color specified by Pepsi’s vintage brand guidelines. The camera comes in a fresh, new box designed to look as if it fell straight out of an early ‘90s Pepsi Stuff catalog.
For a refreshingly authentic instant film experience, choose the Polaroid 600 Pepsi Instant Film Camera — available now!
