Pepsi Commerical featuring Britney Spears

This Pepsi commercial staring Britney Spears displays qualities of both horizontal and vertical intertexuality. Britney Spears is the main focus of the commercial and takes us through various eras in chronological order by mimicking the music, wardrobe and famous icons that were apart of each particular era. Similar to the example that we discussed in class regarding Lindsey Lohan, this commercial displays qualities of horizontal intertexuality by focusing on the different stages of Britney Spear’s image. In the first segment of the commercial, Britney Spears is shown in a very conservative outfit representing when she was first seen as “America’s sweetheart.” As the commercial progresses she is shown singing and dancing representing when she moved on to be an actress and a singer and finally the last shot of Britney is in her typical scandalous outfit showing her present image as a sex symbol and party girl. This commercial along with all of the other Pepsi commercials staring Britney Spears, also displays qualities of vertical intertexuality. Pepsi does this by requiring the audience to be knowledgeable of previous eras by selling their product in a way that mimics old music and famous people that are no longer around. If one is not familiar with the time periods shown it will be difficult for them to grasp the meaning of Pepsi’s overall message. I interpreted Pepsi's message as it is a timeless product and that it has been a favorite beverage for many generations and will continue to be so for many more to come.