At the same time as Pepsi extended its NFL tie-up and renewed its Halftime Show sponsorship, the company also launched its new NFL season ‘Always Be Celebrating’ campaign
The integrated, season-long activation, which also includes a tie-in to NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’, debuted on 4 September just two days ahead of the season opener.
The campaign idea is based on the fact that the 2019/20 season is the NFL’s 100th season and that, according to Pepsi, means ‘100 seasons of game winning touchdowns, fans repping their favourite teams, and unforgettable moments of celebration’.
‘Always Be Celebrating’, which was developed in harness with creative agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, launched with two national TV commercials both featuring real footage of player touchdown celebrations and fan celebrations overlaid with dynamic animation elements and set to the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ by DJ Casper.
The debut spot, ‘The Touchdown Slide’,
will be followed by a second iteration of the commercial later in September.
A further season-opening phase of the campaign, called ‘Celebrating The Champs’, is based around a Pepsi kick-off event and collectible cans (a small batch of commemorative Patriots cans shaped like a football, which fans on-site will have an opportunity to win) to celebrate the Super Bowl LIII Champion New England Patriots and their fans.
This is described by the brand as ‘an epic celebration’ and will take place at the team’s Gillette Stadium and will include the Super Bowl trophy itself, an appearance by Patriots’ players such as free safety Devin McCourty and a performance by platinum selling country star Chris Lane.
We have BIG, BIG PLANS this Thursday at Gillette Stadium for our @Patriots kickoff party to celebrate the Super Bowl 53 champs! Join us at Patriot Place at 7PM for a special @iamchrislane performance and the chance to win some awesome giveaways! #alwaysbecelebrating #PepsiKickoff pic.twitter.com/5o3TP9baUH
— Pepsi (@pepsi) August 30, 2019
The exclusive can AND kickoff party for the Super Bowl Champs #pepsipatriotskickoff #PepsiNFLLacesCan https://t.co/xSX5YDENo9
— Pepsi (@pepsi) September 4, 2019
While through the whole season fans are being invited and incentivised to join the celebratory conversation across social media and show what it means to #AlwaysBeCelebrating their own favourite football moments with @Pepsi.
Another strand of the campaign, ‘Pepsi Cause For Celebration’, will see Pepsi will make a donation to the United Way in the amount to cover 100 meals for every touchdown celebration from the season opener until Thanksgiving.
Fans also have a chance to get involved in the initiative through the season by visiting unitedway.org/pepsi and follow Pepsi’s and United Way’s social media channels to find out more on how they can participate in their local community.
Pepsi is also supporting the NFL’s own ‘Huddle For 100’ initiative: a season-long campaign that encourages one million fans around the nation to give 100 minutes back to their communities during the celebration of the NFL’s 100th season.
The brand will also be included in the show opening of ‘Sunday Night Football’ which features Carrie Underwood and Joan Jett performing a revamped version of the ‘Waiting All Day for Sunday Night’ theme song (Pepsi had a similar deal with NBC last season).
This TV tie-up, which runs under the ‘Celebrating Sunday Night’ tagline and sees Pepsi feature in US primetime television’s number one rated program for eight consecutive years.
As well as its league deal, the campaign will also activate around Pepsi’s 15 individual team partnership under the sub heading ‘Pepsi Team Celebration’.
Through the season, Pepsi will feature a range of team specific celebrations, including a tailgate celebration with the Miami Dolphins and Publix to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month on 15 September headlined by singer Ally Brooke.
Plus, ‘Pepsi’s Player Celebration’ campaign strand will leverage its 26 player NFL athlete ambassador stable by showcasing how each athlete celebrates in their own way through unique retail point of sale retail promotions through the season.
Players involved in this phase include Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce, New York Giants Saquon Barkley, Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott, Minnesota Vikings Kyle Rudolph and many more.
Plus Pepsi will also ‘Celebrate The Pepsi NFL Rookie Of The Year’ for the 17th consecutive season and also added last year’s winner, Washington Redskins’ Dwayne Haskins, to the brand’s roster of NFL player endorsers.
“The NFL has generated some incredible moments over the years, creating a celebratory spirit among its fans and players that is unrivalled. Whether it’s an energetic spike, a choreographed end zone dance, or a ‘shout out loud’ moment in your living room, football consistently brings out some of the most unapologetic celebrations – both on and off the field. The passion of its fans and players alike is what fuels the season and inspired our latest campaign,” said Pepsi Vice President of Marketing Todd Kaplan.
“Celebrating 100 seasons of the NFL this season is the perfect time for Pepsi to partner with our league, team, and player partners to create and showcase even more of these moments for our fans. We wanted to showcase and spotlight what we feel makes the NFL unique. Which is the celebratory spirit that is shared by its fans and its players.”
Comment:
The Halftime Show sponsorship renewal follows on from the NFL’s much discussed entertainment and music-led tie-up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and extends a sponsorship which began back in 2012 (when the drinks giant took over from Bridgestone) and which will now run to 2022.
The halftime sponsorship will attract additional attention this year as the league begins its new entertainment alliance with Roc Nation which will include advising on the selection of artists for major NFL performances like the Super Bowl.
The tie-up, announced in August, immediately came under scrutiny in relation to the Colin Kaepernick led protest, Jay-Z’s previous high profile support for it and the fact that Kaepernick remains out of the league this season again..
This tie-up runs in parallel to a separate PepsiCo sponsorship which sees the drink act as the NFL’s official soft-drink sponsor: a deal which was renewed in 2011 and also runs until 2022 and gives it the rights to use NFL imagery in its ad campaigns.
Links:
Pepsi
http://www.Pepsi.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/Pepsi
http://www.Twitter.com/Pepsi
http://www.Facebook.com/Pepsi
http://www.Instagram.com/Pepsi
Goodby Silverstein & Partners
https://goodbysilverstein.com/
NFL:
http://www.nflshop.com/source/bm-nflc…
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