Pepsi Challenge: Can World Cup sponsors avoid a nutmeg?
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As the World Cup draws closer, Pepsi have dropped a pretty fun, star-studded TVC with nods to modern fandom, wider football culture and Middle Eastern imagery.
Nutmeg Royale, is hooked on the simple concept which is that anyone can get nutmegged - even the GOAT himself. It features Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba and Ronaldinho taking on a team of locals in a ‘nutmeg tournament’.
What I love about this ad, directed by the prolific Ernest Desumbila, is that it encapsulates the many ways we engage with football today and barely a second is wasted with nods to freestylers, gaming, transfer window hype and fashion.
Football no longer is something that we connect with in a straight line, instead we engage with the game via various platforms across multiple passion points.
Pepsi go all out to reflect this new reality.
To widen its appeal further, the ad evokes various nostalgic touch points for fans of different ages. The soundtrack - ‘Rockefeller Skank’ by Fatboy Slim harks back to the FIFA99 soundtrack, while the voice of Peter Drury conjures memories of his sterling and sometimes hilarious commentary in Pro-Evolution Soccer, the game which was once the main rival to EA’s FIFA series.
The return of Pepsi’s coveted football shirt from their 2002 campaign, brings in opportunities for influencer drops and activates football-fashion tribes.
So how is the success of a campaign like this measured?
Forget awareness - there are very few people on the planet that have not heard of Pepsi or know what it tastes like.
The name of the game for Pepsi is to make ground on Coca-Cola when it comes to mental availability (the probability that a buyer will think of a brand in buying occasions).
Pepsi, are also looking to drive brand meaning, namely what do people associate Pepsi with and is it a brand for them that reflects their values and attitude?
A campaign like this helps connect the brand with fun occasions - the act of watching football, or gaming, or having a refreshing drink after a spontaneous nutmeg tournament in a Middle Eastern bazaar.
Pepsi have a long history of positioning themselves as a brand that is more fun, jovial and humorous than Coca-Cola - the traditional market leader which tends to use its World Cup ads to focus on bringing people together often with a tone of wide-eyed wonder.
Pepsi plays the ‘Jester’ to Coca-Cola much like Burger King relentlessly likes to troll McDonalds.
Nutmeg Royale, is part of Pepsi’s new global platform ‘Thirsty For More’.
The soft drinks giant, no doubt, will activate further phases of this campaign as the tournament begins and continues.
Expect TikTok duet challenges with influencers and footballers, more kit drops/fashion collaborations and limited-edition Pepsi cans.
All of this, expands the eco-system of the campaign, increases reach and offers more opportunities for consumers to engage with it as the action begins in Qatar.
They might not be World Cup partners, but like Nike have done so many times in the past, that shouldn’t stop a brand from aiming to capture the buzz of the tournament and effectively ‘ambush’ from outside the big tent.
What is the first ad you think of related to the 1998 World Cup? It’s probably this.
I’m convinced Airport ‘98 will never be bettered, but perhaps Gen Z football fans will look back at Nutmeg Royale with a similar nostalgic fervour two decades from now?
In December, when it comes to reviewing the success of this campaign, Pepsi will be assessing whether they gained a greater share of voice (how much visibility they achieve vs competitors) than the World Cup sponsors themselves who have paid a high premium to be associated with FIFA and the most watched tournament in the world.
If they pull that off, then it will be the sports marketing equivalent of nutmegging an unsuspecting Lionel Messi.
Owl Clasico
FC Barcelona may have lost to their bitter rivals Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico, but their partnership with Spotify remains one of the most fascinating in football, showing the potential of how tech giants can reinvent the traditional sports partnership.
By handing over the front of the iconic, once sponsor less, Barca shirt, to Drake's OVO Sound label to celebrate him hitting 50 billion streams on the platform, Spotify have moved this partnership into an interesting place.
Spotify’s brand mission is to Unlock The Potential of Human Creativity, so celebrating the King of their platform in this manner during one of the world’s biggest club football fixtures connects nicely with that mission.
The idea is to inspire all the would-be artists out there and positions Spotify as a champion of creativity rather than a corporation that pays between $0.001 and $0.008 per stream to artists.
Barca, of course get to traverse that nexus between football and music, while Drake himself can feed his sports obsession and get another shot at breaking his curse. Better luck next time, Aubrey.
The two Clasicos that take place in LaLiga each season are by the far the most watched fixtures on the Spanish football calendar - with more than 650m viewers tuning in from 180 countries.
The power of El Clasico is such, that everyone associated with the fixture tries to address their objectives by capitalising around the heightened attention.
LaLiga fly in partners, ambassadors and influencers from all over the world, commercial partners go big on VIP hospitality and content opportunities while both clubs pump out classic goals from the fixture on their social media platforms.
The unmatched heritage of the fixture and the depth of the rivalry, with all those unique political and historical undertones, helps define each club and the values they stand for.
But Barca managed to capture the attention in the build up and win off the pitch, if not on it.
Sending the Owl-emblazoned limited-edition shirts out to influencers helped Spotify, Barca and Drake/OVO reach an engaged football audience across different markets- and music fans with a casual interest in the game.
Barca fans have been told to expect more artist-powered takeovers this season and I am sure something bigger is planned for the fixture at the Spotify Camp Nou in March.
Reggaeton sensation and footballer-favourite Bad Bunny is only a few billion streams behind Drake, so perhaps that could be his moment.