Pepsi enlists Apple and Bad Bunny for its new music marketing

Two decades after their collaboration helped digital music break into the mainstream, PepsiCo and Apple Music are teaming up again. The “Press Play on Summer” campaign, which stars Bad Bunny, will provide consumers with unlimited listening on Apple Music all summer with the purchase of 20-ounce Pepsi beverages. The promotion heads the all-important summer selling season for Pepsi, which lost ground to rival Coca-Cola in the carbonated soft drink market in 2022, according to Beverage Digest figures. The summer promotion will include 400 million bottles of drink brands across Pepsi’s carbonated soft drink portfolio—Pepsi, Mtn Dew and Starry, the new lemon-lime soda that succeeded Sierra Mist. The promotion will have several “beats” throughout the course of the summer, Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer of brand Pepsi, said in an interview. The brand is teasing what looks to be a forthcoming ad with Bad Bunny. Translation is the lead creative agency. Kaplan said the company would advertise the promotion throughout the summer on TV, digital, social and out-of-home channels. Particular attention will go to venues serving consumers who buy drinks for immediate consumption on the go, like bodegas, gas stations and convenience retailers. “In terms of retail, we’re going to get actually very focused on gas station TV,” Kaplan said. “Pepsi obviously has a huge heritage in music, from jingles way back in the day to being credited with creating lifestyle marketing from the days of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears and Beyonce, all the way up through the Halftime Show. One of the most consistently identifiable things with Pepsi is the notion of music,” Kaplan said. Bad Bunny was named Apple Music’s 2022 Artist of the Year and his album “Un Verano Sin Ti” was Apple Music’s most streamed album last year. The singer has previously worked with PepsiCo's Frito-Lay snacks, promoting Cheetos. “There’s no bigger name in music right now than Bad Bunny,” Kaplan said. “He’s the No. 1 most streamed artist in the world, he had the highest grossing tour act of 2022, and the No. 1 chart-topping album of 2022.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Pepsi has long leveraged music as a growth driver for its brands. It had a 10-year run as title sponsor of the NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show through 2022—a sponsorship that went to Apple Music this year. In announcing the brand would discontinue its sponsorship of the Halftime Show a year ago, Pepsi said it would begin a “much larger strategic shift” to bring music to fans in new ways. “As entertainment evolves, and the way people consume music changes, Pepsi is intent on showing up and showing out, to guarantee the level of access and engaging experiences fans have come to expect from the brand,” the brand said in a statement. Pepsi has since launched the Pepsi Music Lab, an academy for up-and-coming artists. Translation affiliate UnitedMasters has worked with Pepsi on the lab. Pepsi and Apple first teamed up in 2003, when Pepsi gave away 100 million song downloads from what was then a new marketplace called the iTunes Music Store. Ten years after that, Pepsi was an official launch sponsor of Apple’s new streaming radio service, iTunes Radio. Today, as iTunes has evolved into the subscription-based Apple Music streaming app, Pepsi is giving away free three-month memberships to purchasers. An individual membership to Apple Music costs $10.99 monthly. Other instant win prizes include trips to Apple Music live events and Beats headphones. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Pepsi enlists Apple and Bad Bunny for its new music marketing

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