NAD Salutes PepsiCo for its Deaf Super Bowl Ad in ASL

A News Release from the National Association of the Deaf
Release Date: February 1, 2008
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NAD Salutes PepsiCo for its Super Bowl Ad in ASL

Silver Spring, MD -- Much excitement among deaf people worldwide has been generated by the forthcoming PepsiCo commercial, "Bob's House," to be aired during the pre-game portion of Super Bowl Sunday. The 60-second ad, based on a long-standing joke in the American deaf community, is presented in American Sign Language (ASL) without sound --to catch the attention of millions of viewers in an otherwise boisterous pre-game environment. The ad also displays captions so the dialogue can be understood by viewers who do not sign.

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) applauds PepsiCo's employee network, EnAble, for its efforts in "creating an inclusive environment for people of different abilities." This ad, created by and featuring PepsiCo employees, showcases people who know and use American Sign Language. The NAD salutes PepsiCo for giving this "performance with a purpose" the biggest stage possible -- Super Bowl Sunday.

Numerous news outlets have carried stories about the forthcoming PepsiCo ad, in addition to preliminary ad and behind-the-scenes footage featured on the company website, also picked up on by individual blogsites within the deaf community. With response to the ad being overwhelmingly positive, the NAD anticipates an outpouring of affirmative feedback once the ad is broadcast.

"Commercials that are broadcast on Super Bowl Sunday are among the most widely viewed spots of the year," notes NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins. "We are enthusiastic about this ad, and know that it will raise the bar with regard to enhanced public awareness about the American deaf community, its rich culture, and American Sign Language."

She adds, "I encourage everyone who sees the ad to contact PepsiCo HERE and thank them for this clever and entertaining commercial. This is one way to show our appreciation for the tremendous step taken by PepsiCo and EnAble to increase awareness about inclusion and diversity by showcasing its ad entirely in American Sign Language." Messages of appreciation may be sent to PepsiCo by e-mail at the link above or by mail to 700 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577.

My Note: Or you could sent an email to PepsiCo telling them THANK YOU for showing a captioned, deaf commercial using sign language alone and no spoken word during Sunday's pre-game Superbowl show. Below is the contact information. It would be GREAT if we flooded PepsiCo's email box with thank you notes. It may be the start of many great commercials for the future.

Stephanie WhiteConsumer Relations Representative
stephanie.white@pepsi.com
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About the NAD

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established in 1880 by
deaf leaders on the belief in the right of the American deaf community
to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to
have its interests represented at the national level. These beliefs
remain true to this day, with American Sign Language as a core value. As a
nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to promote, protect,
and preserve the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf Americans. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more. For more information, please visit http://www.nad.org/.

Contact: Anita B. Farb Director, Communications and Operations
National Association of the Deaf
Email: www.nad.org/contactus