Retrospekt, the official licensee of Polaroid, is teaming up with Pepsi to launch the coolest, crispest, most refreshing Polaroid camera yet - the Polaroid 600 Pepsi Instant Film Camera. This Polaroid features a brand-new throwback design built using refurbished internal photographic components taken directly from vintage Polaroid instant cameras made in the 1980s and ‘90s and wrapped in a blue exterior that celebrates the joy of the Pepsi brand’s iconic style from years past. The Polaroid 600 Pepsi Camera retails for $160 and launched online on Retrospekt.com and at select retailers on November 2, 2021.
This isn’t the Pepsi brand’s first time in the instant film spotlight. “In the 1980s, Polaroid produced a limited number of cameras that made use of the then-current Pepsi branding,” said Michael Kempen, Retrospekt’s Creative Director. “As the years go by, they’re becoming increasingly difficult to find, but demand is still high. The continued interest year after year put this at the top of our list of collaborations we wanted to bring back.” While their photographic capabilities might be the same, this new release is far from a mere copy. “When we went to create a new camera with a throwback feel, we didn’t want to rehash what the original camera had already done. Pepsi has always had a really strong graphic style which is executed across a variety of products, ad campaigns and other applications,” Kempen added. “For us, the period in the early-to-mid 90s stuck out as a prime example of this. And, since Polaroid was still producing this style of camera into the ‘90s, it means these logos and brand elements are an authentic fit for the camera’s original era.”
The Pepsi x Polaroid Collaboration was brokered by the Pepsi brand’s North American licensing agency, The Joester Loria Group. “What makes this partnership so perfect is the reunion of two iconic brands on one of the most classic pop culture products of all time, the Polaroid Instant Camera,” said Joanne Loria, Executive VP of The Joester Loria Group. “Its appeal hits on two key passion points for today’s Gen Z and millennial consumers, it’s retro-cool and it’s recycled.” By using refurbished vintage camera components and restoring them to work like new, Retrospekt offers a pure and undeniably authentic instant film experience, while reducing some of the unnecessary waste associated with new manufacturing.
Pepsi’s latest brand extension is already generating a lot of buzz with coverage from Hypebeast, Nerdist and INPUT, among others.