Pepsi rolls out two new virals asking ‘Are You Fan Enough’ to kick off its new NFL season activation.
Built around the idea of exploring the lengths NFL fans will go to prove their loyalty to their teams, the spots use humour as a way of asking NFL followers to ramp up their fandom for the beginning of the new season.
Both heavily feature Pepsi product placement – even though neither of the plot lines have much to do with the brand’s products or the moment of consumption.
The films send big name NFL players to fans’ homes to see how committed and ready they are for the big kick off.
One ad features New York Giants’ wide receiver Victor Cruz being amazed (and slightly frightened) by the devotion of super fan Barry Lemke.
Victor Cruz ‘Victory Sheets’TVC
The other stars Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton who encourages fans to wear his new unisex fragrance because it ‘smells like victory’.
Andy Dalton ‘Smells Like A Tiger’ TVC
Both feature the hashtag #FanEnough which will be used in other Pepsi NFL work as the season continues.
The video pairing forms just a small part of a ‘total trademark’ approach Pepsi is taking to its main NFL sponsorship rights this year which will see the brand launching activations for just about every single one of its Pepsi brands.
Pepsi is also the presenting sponsor of the ‘NFL Kickoff 2013 show – which will welcome in the 94th season on 5 September with a concert starring Grammy award winner Keith Urban performing live on a floating stage in Baltimore’s Inner Harbour.
This precedes the coverage of the Baltimore vs Denver opener.
Urban’s show will debut new music from his 10 September album release FUSE and will be followed by football segments and fireworks.
In addition to presenting sponsor Pepsi, top tier sponsors for the NFL’s Kickoff platform include Bridgestone, Bud Light, GMC, Lenovo, Microsoft, Snickers, Verizon and Visa.
Other Pepsi work driving excitement for the new season sees the parent company roll out a new Pepsi MAX ‘Unlock A Legend’ initiative.
This campaign, built around digital promotion codes, is a new gaming initiative in partnership with EA Sports Madden NFL 25 and fronted by Hall Of Famer Barry Sanders, lets fans unlock of classic star player pack and includes a sweepstakes element with a range of prizes on offer.
PepsiMax is also the brand running the ‘NFL Rookie Of The Week’ and ‘NFL Rookie Of The Year’ fan voting competition (which was first launched by Diet Pepsi back in 2002).
Comment
Fan appetite for the season kick-off is strong, if the Pepsi spots’ 2m YouTube views to date are anything to go by.
Interesting, the ‘Are You Fan Enough’ line has actually been used as a title for several previous sponsorship activations from other brands in other sports right around the world.
For example it was also the name of a Carlsberg Malaysia football campaign offering EPl ticket prizes in association with ESPN.
See http://www.areyoufanenough.com.my/
Pepsi and the NFL, who have been partners since the beverage giant took over league rights to the cola category from rival Coca-Cola in 2002, extended their relationship in 2012 with a 10-year deal that reports suggest is in the multibillion-dollar range.
Pepsi subrands Gatorade, Tropicana and Frito-Lay also are league partners.
This season will see Pepsi in the second year of its second tenure as title sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show via a deal signed in 2012 that should carry through the historic Super Bowl L in 2016.
Super Bowl XLVIII this February will be played near to PepsiCo’s Pucrhase NY headquarters at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium (at which Pepsi already has significant presence as a cornerstone partner (along with Bud Light, Verizon and SAP).
Links
PepsiMax & EA Madden NFL
https://digitalpromocodes.com/maddenlegends
PepsiMax Rookie Of The Year
http://www.nfl.com/voting/rookies/2012/YEAR/0
Pepsico Website
NFL Website
Keith Urban Website
