Hudson '79 Finds Joy in Cola

Matt Sargent '97 lines the top shelf of his cubicle at work with Pepsi-Cola cans bearing the imprint of various "Phantom Menace" characters. My roommates hum along to Hallie Eisenberg's cutesy imitations of Aretha Franklin, Marlon Brando and Isaac Hayes in Pepsi commercials. Pepsi is back on the map (and in the cubicle), wading into the cola fray once more with the revitalized marketing campaigns of Dawn Hudson '79.

Appointed senior vice president for strategy and marketing after heading up PepsiCo'sFrito-Lay unit, Hudson allotted more than $2 billion to advertise with all three films in the new "Star Wars" trilogy (guaranteeing Sargent more Pepsi cans in 2002 and 2005) and developed three snappy spots featuring child actress Eisenberg. Pepsi's new slogan, "The joy of Cola," debuted during the 1999 Academy Awards and replaced the tired "Generation Next" slogan.

The Dartmouth English and economics ma jor started her ad career in New York, at Compton Advertising, crossing town several years later to move up to partner status at DDB Needham, where she worked on the Frito-Lay "Rold Gold" campaign featuring "Seinfeld" veteran Jason Alexander. Under her watch, Frito-Lay's market share shot from 11 percent to 30 percent.

Whether the "Joy of Cola" campaign sucks competitors dry, she is considered one of the best in the business -.AdvertisingAge magazine has justnamed her to the No. 6 spot in its annual list of the 50 Most Powerful People in Marketing.

Hudson