Pepsiman is Pepsi's superhero mascot for its Japan division, a faceless silver and red figure who delivers Pepsi cans and gets injured in the process across 12 TV commercials from 1994 to 2000.

Where did Pepsiman come from?

The character debuted in Pepsi Japan commercials in 1994, with the design credited to Canadian comic artist Travis Charest.

What does Pepsiman mean?

The name refers to Pepsi Japan's superhero mascot, though Urban Dictionary also records a slang use where 'Pepsiman' describes someone who only drinks cheap sodas.

How do you use Pepsiman?

Fans share clips of the original commercials and PS1 game footage, cosplay the chrome costume at conventions, and sign online petitions asking PepsiCo to bring the character back.

Is Pepsiman still popular?

Pepsiman is a classic nostalgia favorite, with YouTube ad compilations gaining millions of views and active fan communities built around the character and his 1999 PlayStation game.

Pepsiman

1994mascot / viral videoclassic

Published October 19, 2026

Pepsiman is Pepsi's superhero mascot for its Japan division, a nearly faceless silver and red figure introduced in 1994 who sprints to deliver cans of Pepsi before meeting slapstick disasters. Across 12 Japanese TV spots that ran into 2000, the hero bursts through walls, gets hit by vehicles and ends almost every ad covered in injuries. By the mid 2000s, YouTube reuploads of the ads and the 1999 PlayStation tie-in game turned him into an internet nostalgia favorite among Western viewers.

advertising memes japanese internet memes nostalgia memes late 1990s memes character design memes

Overview

Every Pepsiman spot follows a loose template. A Japanese bystander wishes aloud for a cold drink, the hero arrives at impossible speed and flicks a Pepsi can into the person's hand with a sharp 'PSH-ANG!' sound effect, then promptly suffers a car crash, cliff fall or demolition accident1. His costume is a smooth chrome bodysuit with no visible eyes or mouth, which lets the physical gag carry each ad without any dialogue from the character himself3.

Online, Pepsiman survives mostly as reposted clips of these commercials and gameplay footage of his 1999 PlayStation game, which cast the character as an endless-runner dodging rolling cheese wheels, barrels and tourists through city streets5. Fan tributes include costume photos, MUGEN fighting game inserts and online petitions asking PepsiCo to bring the character back for new markets4.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Japanese TV commercials (YouTube viral spread)

Creator

Travis Charest

Date

1994

Pepsi's Japan division introduced Pepsiman in a run of TV spots starting in 1994, with the character design credited to Canadian comic artist Travis Charest3. The campaign totaled 12 commercials through 2000, each centered on the hero appearing to deliver a Pepsi and then suffering an exaggerated injury on the way out1.

The character stayed limited to Japan and nearby East Asian markets instead of becoming a global Pepsi mascot3. KID Corporation produced a tie-in PlayStation game in 1999 titled simply Pepsiman, which turned the ad formula into a side-scrolling runner where players dodged traffic and rolling obstacles while the PSH-ANG effect played between stages5.

How It Spread

English-speaking audiences started finding Pepsiman through YouTube uploads of the commercials in the mid 2000s, where compilations of the 12 ads gained millions of views across multiple reupload accounts1. Clips of the PS1 game spread alongside the commercials, with gaming blogs covering the title as a cult oddity worth tracking down an import copy for2.

Nostalgia posts migrated to Tumblr, Twitter and Reddit through the 2010s, where fans created the /r/pepsiman subreddit, Facebook fan pages and multiple Change.org petitions asking PepsiCo to bring the mascot back to new campaigns4. One petition specifically requests a game remaster alongside a Pepsiwoman revival and describes him as a 'cold can of nostalgia' for a new generation4.

The name also drifted into casual slang. Urban Dictionary records a usage where 'Pepsiman' describes someone who only buys cheap sodas, a joke application that is separate from the superhero character but extends the name into everyday use6.

Timeline

1994

Pepsi Japan debuts Pepsiman in the first of 12 TV commercials, with character design by Canadian artist Travis Charest.

1999-03

KID Corporation releases the Pepsiman video game for PlayStation in Japan, an endless-runner tie-in to the ad campaign.

2000

The final Pepsiman commercial airs in Japan, closing the original 12-spot run.

2007

YouTube reuploads of the Japanese commercials start finding Western audiences and the game is rediscovered online.

2016

Fans launch Change.org petitions asking PepsiCo to revive Pepsiman and reissue the PS1 game for new platforms.

How to Use This Meme

Pepsiman fandom is mostly about resharing the original material. People post the full 12 commercial reel to YouTube, Reddit and Twitter, trade GIFs of the hero getting hit by a truck, upload speedrun footage of the PS1 game, and sign ongoing petitions asking PepsiCo to revive the mascot4.