Andrei Duman Creates a Scalable and Versatile Campaign for Canned Beverages

Photographer and Director Andrei Duman stands out as an artist with a relentless pursuit of conceptual projects that not only captivate us, but pushes creative trends. When he’s not shooting commercially you can usualy find him in his studio, testing and bringing his imagined ideas to life either in camera or with the use of CGI and other post production tools. 

Choosing to use an iconic brand for a personal project is a lofty goal, as that brand has lots of resources and creatives who have worked for decades to perfect their brand identity. However, Andrei has the ability to take a iconic brand and create a new idea, one that they just might use for themselves. His personal project, using Pepsi cans and CGI to transform the cans into stadiums, intersects the identifiable Pepsi brand, with fresh creative ideas that could be repurposed as a full creative campaign to be used globally. 

In chatting with Andrei about this project, it became clear that this project involved layered creativity, technical expertise and strategic foresight to bring it to life. Read on to learn more.

What was the inspiration for this project?

It initially started through a fortuitous encounter. I met with someone from Pepsi randomly to discuss my work broadly, and we click and began to spitball ideas. It evolved organically and they suggested that if I could test the idea, they would be open to reviewing it. So, I thought about what the Pepsi brand means, and for me, Pepsi is synonymous with sports. I wanted to find a way to bring those two together and the idea to integrate a sports stadium and a Pepsi can began to take shape in my mind.

What were some of the creative challenges you encountered during the project?

Initially, I wanted to cut the can in half to reveal the stadium, but this posed issues with the Pepsi logo placement. I knew that having the logo in full view is incredibly important, so I thought of an alternate plan. I decided that the stadium could be at the top of the can, which actually worked out better and I think allows for more versatility.

What do you see as the potential for this project?

One of the biggest goals that I had for this project was to make sure it was scalable and versatile. I believe that these images and concepts would be easy to customize the stadium. For instance, with the upcoming Summer Olympics, the stadium could be created to hold different sports. Or, if a musical artist was coming to a specific stadium, the graphics could reflect each individual stadium and even that performer's custom stage. The way I created it is very flexible which I think is valuable to brands. 

I also like that motion could be integrated easily into the concept. Perhaps the fireworks explode or the players on the field move. A camera could zoom in and out of the can to show the details of the field while also displaying the logo of the can. This could work for any canned beverage, not just Pepsi.