Pepsiman

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About

Pepsiman (ペプシマン Pepushiman) is the semi-famous, yet little-known superhero mascot for Pepsi's Japan division. The character gained wide recognition across Pepsi's markets in East Asia after making his debut through a series of 12 TV spot commercials and tie-in media throughout the 1990's. Distinguished by his nearly faceless features, Pepsiman's main abilities are super-speed, the ability to form Pepsi cans into people's hands by flicking his arm and making a "PSH-ANG!" sound, and usually getting major injuries when delivering Pepsi.

Origin

The history of Pepsi man starts back in the 1990's, where his design is attributed to the Canadian artist Travis Charest. from 1994 to 2000, Pepsi man would be featured in 12 Pepsi commercials. In the commercials, they would show people who were craving for a soda, with Pepsi man appearing to give the people Pepsi. Usually after delivering Pepsi to the people, Pepsi man would be involved in some sort of injury.

Spread Beyond the Commercials

Video Games

Pepsiman has appeared in three video games; as an unlockable fighter in the Japanese version of the 1996 Sega Saturn game Fighting Vipers, an arcade gambling machine of the same name, and the Japanese exclusive game Pepsiman on the Sony PlayStation. In the PlayStation game, players are to collect Pepsi cans on the ground, while trying to avoid all the obstacles and reach the end of the stage before the time limit expires. For each two stages completed, players are rewarded with full-motion video cutscenes featuring actor Mike Butters.

Merchandise

Since his debut in commercials and video games, Pepsiman had many promotional products. From a collectible Pepsi bottle cap to action figures, Pepsiman was, for a brief time, a Japanese icon.

Following in the West

After the PlayStation Pepsiman video game was discovered outside of Japan in the late-2000's, Pepsiman gained some notable interest. YouTuber UberHaxorNova uploaded a gameplay video. As of July 22, 2015, the video has gained over 400,000 views. Another notable video featuring the Pepsiman game was streamed by Vinesauce streamer Vinny. As of December 20, 2015, the video has more than 36,000 views.

Another example of Pepsiman's cult following is the Pepsiman mod for Killing Floor 2, by MarphitimusBlackimus. On October 11, 2015, MowtenDoo released a remixed music video of the Pepsiman PlayStation theme. It has gained more than 600,000 views.

On July 7, 2016, at the charity gaming marathon Games Done Quick, the PEPSIMAN game for PlayStation was played by theboyks. Pepsiman himself is also featured as one of the "commentators."

On May 8, 2019, popular comedy video game web show The Angry Video Game Nerd uploaded an episode dedicated to the Pepsiman PlayStation game, bringing Mike Butters back to reprise his role to positive acclaim.