Pepsi’s tactical approach to the Super Bowl isn’t one formed around a single day, single event, but rather a season-long activation that starts back in August and continues after the Big Game itself.
Pepsi doesn’t wait for halftime and builds up activation through the season: starting with digital and social slow burn, before amping up the traditional and on-the-ground work, then revealing live in-game creative and the flagship halftime show itself.
Indeed, at the very heart of NFL super sponsor PepsiCo’s Super Bowl activation sits the live Pepsi Halftime Show (the most watched event on US television) which this year is headlined by Coldplay.
But in the lead-up to the Big Game, Pepsi activates its rights primarily across digital channels and this year’s multi-strand activation is led by no fewer than fopur different sets of Super Bowl themed online film series.
Three of these (‘Camp Halftime’, ‘The Halftime Show Show’ and ‘Coldplay’) revolve around branded content, entertainment-led films about the halftime show itself, while the fourth (Party Tests) is a more product specific based strand focusing on linking the brand’s products to the millions of Super Bowl parties being planned up and down the USA.
The first to launch was a light-hearted online video series starring Donald Faison called ‘Camp Halftime’ (with new episodes posted each Wednesday),
This was followed by the episodic comedy ‘The Pepsi Halftime Show Show with Rob & Paul’,
More tightly connected to the show itself is a set of docu-style spots featuring the members of the headline act Coldplay discussing the event and rehearing their set.
The ‘Party Problems’ ads promote PepsiCo drink and snacks and star Jerry Rice and Shannon Sharpe undergoing a series of (funny research) Football Party Tests.
These run in a retail partnership with Walmart (see http://www.walmart.com/GameDayGlory) and follow in the footsteps of last year’s Joe Flacco fronted ads.
Pepsi will also air a spearhead commercial during the game itself – one focusing on its music industry history and its role as the Halftime Show sponsor.
This pre-halftime show commercial (created by The Marketing Arm and directed by Samuel Bayer) pays homage to Pepsi’s pop culture and musical history. It is called ‘The Joy of Dance’ and stars Janelle Monáe.
Monáe dances through decades – from ’50s do-wop through Madonna to her own take on Pepsi’s ‘Joy of Cola’ jingle.
Followed, of course, by the halftime show itself – featuring Coldplay and staggering guets apparances from Beyonce (who used the event to release her new single) and Bruno Mars.
Another aspect of its live, game day work sees Pepsi become the first brand to sponsor a Twitter ‘Promoted Moment’ for the game and it has already launched a custom emoji Twitter hashflag that that appears when the hashtag #Pepsihalftime is used to amp-up its role in the Big Game Twitter conversation.
Pepsi is also a part of the first Super Bowl Live Story on Snapchat.
The NFL is sharing fan videos from the game in a Snapchat Live Story – the first for the Super Bowl (this will also feature ads from Amazon, Budweiser and Marriott, as well as Pepsi).
Pepsi’s Snapchat spot will be tied to its game commercial and the music history theme.
Post-game, the soft drink’s sponsor also produced a ‘#PepsiHalftime Rap Up’ song and video that blends hip hop and humor as Donald Faison raps his way through his favorite halftime moments.
And also after the game, during the post-Super Bowl ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’, host Corden spoofed Cindy Crawford’s Pepsi Super Bowl ad from 1992: ‘Nothing will ever beat my favorite Super Bowl commercial from 1992,’ said Corden before attempting just that.
Pepsi, as well as being the title sponsor of the NFL’s ‘Pepsi Rookie of the Year Award’ and of ‘The Pepsi Fan Deck’ at Levi’s stadium itself, also previewed its Kola House: an experimental kola bar, restaurant, lounge and event space (for culture, music, art, style, film and sport) in San Francisco (prior to the space’s major launch in New York which will offer a flagship brand experience).
As for the other PepsiCo brands, in addition to a tech-savvy campaign in and around San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium, Doritos is also running 10th (and final) ‘Crash The Super Bowl’ consumer-created ad contest.
The short list includes ‘Ultrasound’,
‘Swipe’,
and ‘Dogs’..
The entry receiving the most fan votes will air during the game itself.
This decade long, ground breaking campaign, which really kick-started the consumer-creative approach to activation, began as a US-only initiative and has since spread globally. This year’s submissions came from 29 countries (Doritos are only sold in 34 markets).
Meanwhile, Mountain Dew returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in 15 years with a Mountain Dew Kickstart campaign – called #PuppyMonkeyBaby – in which the spearhead commercial was initially teased across social channels before the full ad roll out.
The brand tease is based around the release of three cryptic videos on Facebook in the form of ‘Teaser 1’,
‘Teaser 2’
and ‘Teaser 3’,
before the final, full instalment reveal four days before the Super Bowl itself.
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Pepsi’s activation plan also includes newer social platforms like Snapchat – which continue to shift more of the game-related brand conversation to digital.
PepsiCo’s chief marketing officer Seth Kaufman admits that this year 40% of the company’s Super Bowl activation budget is being spent on digital.
Indeed, this pre-game digital work sets-up the central, huge halftime show, as well as the brand’s in-game TV ads, real-time digital and its on-the-ground campaign.
This digitally dominated approach to pre-game activation continues a tactic first adopted last year with Pepsi’s ‘Hype Your Hometown’ initiative (see case study).
This year sees more digital (including new social platforms like Snapchat and with Twitter positioned as the lead live platform), plus more on-the-ground activity across multiple brands (including a tech-forward, multi-sensory experience at Pier 70, plus concerts, mixology events, high-tech Pepsi Spire fountains spread over the host city, plus on-the-ground work at the central NFL Experience space, as well as a major presence and a lot of product in the stadium itself) and a mix of pre-game teasing as well as in-game creative reveal.
This year seems to see Pepsi trying to reintroduce a touch of surprise with a slow-burn, content and experientially led build up towards a core, in-game live creative and entertainment reveal.
PepsiCo’s 10-year, $1bn sponsorship deal with the NFL – which was originally announced back in 2011 – is arguably the biggest annual partnership deal on the planet.
The relationship between the league and the drinks giant dates back to the 1980s and the current package is a decade-long, multi-brand deal that includes Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats and Tropicana.
Links:
Pepsi YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Pepsi
Pepsi Website:
Pepsi Twitter:
Pepsi Facebook:
Pepsi Instagram:
http://www.Instagram.com/Pepsi
Doritos:
https://crashthesuperbowl.doritos.com/finalists
Mountain Dew:
PepisCo:
NFL:
www.nfl.com
Super Bowl 50:
http://www.sfbaysuperbowl.com/#Turcb580vciHWotd.97
