Channeling the risk-taking young men associate with drinking Mountain Dew, Pepsi created a risqué app to promote its Dew-branded Amp Energy drink on iPhone.  In a move seen with many independent iPhone developers, they created a very Apple-like advertising spot to promote it.

The app is Amp Up Before You Score, a dating facilitator that helps men identify types of women and offers tips on picking them up.  In what Pepsi may have seen as a PR boost, the app propelled into the spotlight when Apple slapped a mature rating on it.  It then turned political correctness nightmare when the app drew much scorn for its commodification of women, prompting Pepsi to issue an apology through Twitter.

Did it deserve it?   It may push buttons when it comes to stereotyping women, but it also pushes boundaries by working nifty iPhone features into a marketing app.

Watch it at Creativity-Online.