How Cindy Crawford’s Pepsi Moment Became Supermodel History

Cindy Crawford’s Pep­si Com­mer­cial – The Ad That Defined a Gen­er­a­tion

Some com­mer­cials come and go, but a select few become leg­endary. Cindy Crawford’s 1992 Pep­si com­mer­cial is one of those rare moments in adver­tis­ing his­to­ry that left an unfor­get­table mark on pop cul­ture. With just 30 sec­onds of screen time, the ad trans­formed a sim­ple soft drink com­mer­cial into a cul­tur­al phe­nom­e­non, cement­ed Crawford’s sta­tus as one of the ulti­mate super­mod­els, and cre­at­ed one of the most defin­ing visu­als of the 1990s.

At the time, Pep­si was search­ing for an ad that cap­tured the essence of youth—something fun, fresh, and effort­less­ly cool. They found the per­fect for­mu­la in Cindy Craw­ford, who was already one of the biggest names in fash­ion and mod­el­ing. Direct­ed by acclaimed film­mak­er Joe Pyt­ka, the com­mer­cial was shot at a small, dusty gas sta­tion just out­side Los Ange­les. The set­ting gave the ad a nos­tal­gic, cin­e­mat­ic feel, almost like a short film rather than a tra­di­tion­al TV spot.

The sto­ry­line was sim­ple but unfor­get­table. Craw­ford steps out of a red Lam­borgh­i­ni, dressed in a white tank top and den­im shorts—an out­fit so sim­ple yet so strik­ing that it instant­ly became a ‘90s fash­ion sta­ple. She walks to an old-school Pep­si vend­ing machine, inserts a coin, and takes a slow, refresh­ing sip. Watch­ing near­by are two young boys, seem­ing­ly mes­mer­ized by the supermodel’s beau­ty. But the clever twist comes at the end—the boys weren’t star­ing at Craw­ford at all, but at the brand-new design of the Pep­si can.

This wit­ty reveal gave the com­mer­cial uni­ver­sal appeal. It wasn’t just about sex appeal or glamour—it was play­ful, smart, and instant­ly mem­o­rable. The ad per­fect­ly blend­ed fash­ion, celebri­ty cul­ture, and brand­ing in a way that res­onat­ed across gen­er­a­tions.

Sev­er­al key fac­tors con­tributed to the ad’s leg­endary sta­tus:

Effort­less Sim­plic­i­ty – With no dia­logue or flashy effects, the ad relied on strong visu­als and an instant­ly rec­og­niz­able face. Time­less Style – Crawford’s look became one of the most copied out­fits of the decade and remains icon­ic in fash­ion his­to­ry. Bril­liant Brand­ing – Pep­si wasn’t just sell­ing soda; they were sell­ing an image—youthful, styl­ish, and aspi­ra­tional.

Because of its mas­sive pop­u­lar­i­ty, the com­mer­cial has been revis­it­ed sev­er­al times:

Super Bowl 2002 – A remas­tered ver­sion aired dur­ing the big game for the ad’s 10th anniver­sary. 2018 Super Bowl Pep­si Trib­ute – Craw­ford returned for a mod­ern remake, prov­ing that some cul­tur­al moments nev­er lose their mag­ic. Count­less Pop Cul­ture Ref­er­ences – From music videos to Hal­loween cos­tumes, the ad con­tin­ues to inspire trib­utes and par­o­dies more than 30 years lat­er.

Even today, Cindy Crawford’s Pep­si com­mer­cial stands as one of the most icon­ic ads ever cre­at­ed. It’s more than just marketing—it’s a cul­tur­al touch­stone that defined an era of fash­ion, adver­tis­ing, and celebri­ty pow­er. For many, that image of Craw­ford sip­ping Pep­si under the sum­mer sun isn’t just a mem­o­ry of the ‘90s—it’s a time­less reminder of how a per­fect­ly exe­cut­ed moment can live on for­ev­er.