One of Pepsi’s ever-changing slogans promised, “Where there’s Pepsi, there’s music.” In writing their debut single, dream-pop duo Bonhom weren’t inspired by a soft drink campaign, but found the track shared a name with another Pepsi catchphrase, “Live for Now.”
When it came to filming the video for the song, the band — comprised of singer-songwriter/producer James Coleman and DJ/producer/songwriter Diwon — chose to embrace the coincidence.
“A couple weeks after we wrote it, we drove past a huge billboard that says ‘LIVE FOR NOW — PEPSI,'” the band tells Spinner. “Once we realized that we basically wrote the anthem for Pepsi’s new campaign without even being aware, we thought it would be cool to shoot a video that had a inspirational feel that brought diverse people together with a positive message, almost something Pepsi wish they had done with their campaign. At one point we thought it would be hilarious to start the video off with a big title card that read THIS IS NOT A PEPSI COMMERCIAL.”
Pepsi inspiration aside, the video, directed by Matthew Stubstad, took on a deeper meaning.
“Once we got into the video we forgot all about the Pepsi coincidence and just had fun running around to different neighborhoods in L.A., finding people from different walks of life and really getting to see what they live for,” they say. “‘Live For Now’ was written about living momentarily rather than in the unforeseen future or the distant past. It’s forgetting the worldwide tensions that can boggle us down and experiencing life as if we are observing it with new eyes.”
And Bonhom’s take on living in the moment?
“Sometimes we are not exactly where we want to be, but ultimately where we are is where we are supposed to be. It’s the journey that counts. That’s why we ‘Live for Now.'”
Check out the band seizing the day in the video below.