Pepsi is the Official
Sponsor of the NFL
The Challenge
As the official sponsor of the NFL, the Super Bowl is the brand’s annual opportunity to do something exciting and memorable that connects with consumers. But, unlike every other year, this Super Bowl had an interesting twist.
The Insight
Coke had Homefield
Advantage for Super Bowl LIII
Advantage for Super Bowl LIII
Atlanta, GA, was the host city of Super Bowl LIII which also happens to be the birthplace of Coca-Cola. What seemed like a potential problem was actually a gift—you can’t buy brand tension like this. Since everyone had seen Pepsi and Coke battle it out before, we proposed a refreshing new approach.
OUR IDEA
The Cola Truce
With everyone anticipating typical Cola Wars fireworks, we did the last thing anyone expected and declared a truce. In a gesture of goodwill, we created a life-sized statue of Pepsi founder Caleb Branham and placed him in a symbolic “cheers” with Coke founder John Pemberton outside their World of Coke museum. Publicly, Coke greeted us with open arms. Privately, they kicked us out. But it was too late – the #ColaTruce had already captivated the Super Bowl narrative from Twitter to CNN to the New York Times and everywhere in between.
The Results
Pepsi Officially
Upsets Coke in Atlanta
Upsets Coke in Atlanta
Achieved >600M
total impressions
Outperformed engagement
vs competition
Cannes
5X shortlist
The One Show
2X shortlist
