Pepsi goes Instagram-heavy for summer campaign

Pepsi collaborated with Instagram, Chrissy Teigen and DJ Khaled on a summer campaign that includes 25 TV ads as the soda continues to boost its marketing spending in search of a sales comeback. The effort, called “Pepsi #Summergram” involves putting special graphics and QR codes on more than 200 million bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero Sugar. If the codes are scanned with a smartphone camera, it launches an Instagram Story in which Pepsi-branded augmented reality filters can be placed. For instance, one filter shows an inflatable flamingo raft emblazoned with the Pepsi logo nearby the text, “always pool ready.” While Snapchat has long partnered with brands on custom filters, Facebook-owned Instagram only recently opened the door for such collaborations with marketers. In a press release touting the campaign, Pepsi VP-Marketing Todd Kaplan stated: “We are so excited to work with Instagram and bring some of their newest, breakthrough technology directly to our most loyal consumers.” Pepsi signed up Teigen and Khaled to tout the program to their millions of followers on social media. The two stars will also appear at an event in Manhattan. The campaign also includes 25 15-second TV spots that showcase the AR effects, as well as more than 2,300 custom out-of-home billboards nationwide. Events are also planned in Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami. Agencies working on the campaign include Motive for creative, VaynerMedia for digital and Acceleration for PR and experiential. The campaign comes as PepsiCo continues to ramp up marketing spending on its flagship cola brand in a bid to reverse a sales slump. The renewed investment, which began last year, is showing signs of promise. Trademark Pepsi, which includes diet and regular, gained 0.2 points in dollar market share in the first quarter after losing 0.4 points in share last year, according to data from Beverage-Digest. Below, a sample of some of the Instagram filters.

Pepsi goes Instagram-heavy for summer campaign

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