The Critical Mind- The Pepsi Monk

I have chosen a Pepsi commercial using Shaolin Monks to demonstrate the great taste and energy it can give you. Here is a link to the commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40DykbPa4Lc

An easy first glance tells the viewer that the company behind this commercial is obviously Pepsi. However there were a handful of Shaoilin monks who gave their time for the shooting of this humerous Pepsi commercial. The funding of the money was supplied from the Pepsi company as they had all control over the content. The reasoning behind this assessment is that the whole focus is around training to be able to smash the Pepsi can with his head after indulging in a drink.
The target audience ranges from from children as young as 12 to adults in there 40's. I believe the use of Monks, who can be easily mistaken for Ninjas appeal to the younger era as they also intertwine some action into the minute commercial. By using a bit of action it draws the viewers in and gets the "blood pumping" as some like to say. The other side of it for an older audience is, it has a comedic tone to it and adults can find the humour enough to go out and purchase said product.
The text behind this commercial is the desire to be like the other Monks, and by doing so through the art of training body and mind for its final test. In this situation the final test is to smash the Pepsi can with the usage of a head and have and imprint left on the forehead.
The subtext is not, to become a Shaoilin Monk that is certain. But the absolute most underlying subtext of this commercial is strictly just purchasing Pepsi. Monks could be dancing around on the moon for 54 seconds and at the very end they pull out a can of Pepsi and drink it. The subtext in scenarios like these will always be the product, and in this case that is the Pepsi Company.
The message is effective to some and to others maybe not so much. It all depends on the person and how they are feeling at that moment of viewing, if they are thirsty but cannot think of something to drink and then see this commercial the action blended with the humour touched up with the Pepsi can might be enough to sell someone who is in dire need of a drink. Overall is the commercial effective, sure why not? It certainly is a goofy commercial.
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ADDED NOTES:

The symbol on the Shaoilin Monk's heads throughout the commercial is infact something similiar to what they do today. It is known as “香疤 (xiāng bā) which is a series of dots, not tattooed but imprinted with hot incense.
Another added note is that throughout the commercial the monks demonstrated a series of martial art moves that are labeled some of the 72 Shaoilin Monk Secrets. They are, “铁砂掌" (tiěshā zhǎng) which means iron palm, and “铁头功" (tiě tóu gōng) which means iron head.

RESOURCES:

http://resources.echineselearning.com/funstuff/funstuff-chinese-6.html

http://www.youtube.com/