Phil Dusenberry Takes The Pepsi Challenge

January 21, 1991 at 5:00 AM UTC

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For many students of Madison Avenue, Philip B. Dusenberry epitomized `80s advertising. The vice-chairman of ad agency BBDO Worldwide captured the giddy optimism and over-the-top extravagance of the decade in lavish television commercials for clients such as PepsiCo and Gillette. For Pepsi's "Choice of a New Generation" campaign, he hired Michael Jackson to star in some of the most elaborate productions ever staged for a commercial.

If you want to know what `90s advertising will be like, check in with Phil Dusenberry these days: He's poring over storyboards for the Pepsi ads that will debut during the Super Bowl on Jan. 27. The big issue: when to flash on the screen a toll-free telephone number for a $10 million interactive promotion. It's part of a contest in which Pepsi will award $1 million each to three viewers who call in with the best rendition of Diet Pepsi's new theme, "You've Got the Right One Baby, Uh-huh."