Yeh Dil Maange More

Read the campaign story

Pepsi’s Yeh Dil Maange More campaign shows that localisation can require more than translating an international line. The global starting point was Ask for More. In India, the phrase became a blend of Hindi and English that sounded like an expression of feeling rather than a literal instruction to consume. That shift gave the brand a way to speak about youthful wanting and possibility in a locally familiar register.

Interviews with campaign participants credit Anuja Chauhan and JWT, then associated with the Hindustan Thompson name. A creator interview dates the work to 1999, while a later retrospective uses the range 1998–99. The latter recalls a launch film with Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. These are retrospective accounts, so the precise premiere date is not claimed here and enthusiastic assessments are not treated as measured effectiveness.

The mechanism is linguistic ownership. A line becomes easier to repeat when its rhythm and vocabulary resemble how the intended audience actually speaks. The English word does not simply decorate a Hindi translation; the combination carries the personality of the proposition. Celebrity delivery can help establish a phrase, but the phrase still needs to work when repeated by ordinary people without the original performance or media context.

A smaller organisation can use this lesson by listening to natural customer language before drafting a slogan. Develop several short expressions of the same verified promise, then test them in conversation rather than only on a presentation slide. Ask people what each phrase means, which brand it could belong to and whether they would ever say it themselves. Translation should also be reviewed for unintended meanings across the languages and communities addressed.

This case does not attribute Pepsi’s market performance to a line alone, and it does not count later appearances of the slogan as new campaigns. It is distinct from the earlier Nothing Official About It work. The transferable lesson is to preserve strategic meaning while allowing local expression to change the emotional texture. A phrase that people can naturally use may travel further than a technically faithful translation, but memorability still needs a clear brand connection and a credible product role.

Translate the feeling

Preserve the strategic idea while allowing local rhythm and idiom.

Test spoken meaning

Hear how people interpret and repeat a phrase without the presentation.

Keep attribution clear

Check that a memorable line remains connected to the brand.

A small test for another brief

Test three locally natural versions of one product promise.

Correct interpretation, naturalness and brand linkage.

Reject a phrase if it misstates the offer or carries unintended exclusionary meaning.

• Write the promise in plain language first.
• Ask fluent local reviewers to create and check alternatives.
• Test meaning and brand attribution in short interviews.