Can you keep up the pace with the best football players in the world? Probably not, but the memory of such an experience cannot be matched. So, join the #PepsiChallenge, the latest challenge for the football fans. Pepsi gives you the chance to train with Messi or Ianis Hagi. What do you need to do? Have courage, get on TikTok and take on the challenge like nobody else. It’s simple: catch the pass from Ianis, make a duet and train among the best football players in the world. This is Pepsi's way of celebrating football, competitiveness and to welcome the long awaited Champions League matches, where the brand is the official sponsor in 2021 as well.
The #Pepsi training with your idols
Football means competition, adrenaline, talent, 100 heartbeats per minute, excitement and hardship. However, Pepsi reminds us that it also means having fun, sharing emotions and having special moments together. So, in greeting the Champions League matches debuting in April, the brand offers fans from all over the world a chance to play together with their idols on TikTok.
Who can turn down duetting Messi and Ianis? This is the challenge Pepsi Global proposes: it brings Messi on TikTok to give everybody a chance to play along with him. Many countries, including Romania, accepted the challenge and passed it on to their consumers, ensuring connections throughout the world. Athletes like Shanice, Sancho, Pogba and Van De Sande joined in. The #PepsiChallenge has now arrived in Romania proving that we can be united, wherever we are, by the things we love.
The new challenge comes with many new elements this time. It brings football on TikTok, it uses the new features of the platform and transforms sports in a social occasion, getting it closer to its fans.
"Pepsi continues to be present on TikTok this time with a dedicated activation part of a global initiative: #PepsiChallenge, the first ever campaign on TikTok to bring together football and music. The campaign is even more so important as it takes place simultaneously in many countries, under the same mechanism and hashtag. In Romania, Ianis Hagi is the one to set the tone of the #PepsiChallenge, by taking part in a "duet" with Messi and inviting users to keep up the pace with the greatest football players in the world."
Laurentiu Ion (Digital and Media Manager Beverages, PepsiCo Romania)
Pass, duet and goal
But first: what does a TikTok duet mean? It is a feature that allows users to create new videos, using an already existing one: both videos will appear on the screen, next to each other. This way, people can respond to a video with their own one, and the results are often fun and exciting.
An example is given by Messi himself and Ianis. Messi passes to Ianis, Ianis catches the Pepsi can, the ball is passed from a frame to the other, and the two players play and share a moment together.
All you have to do is join in the game, film the best pass to your idol and post the duet with the #PepsiChallenge.
Pepsi brings football on TikTok
With Pepsi, the challenges on TikTok go to another level, just how the past Pepsi branded campaigns have shown, which challenged stars from a variety of areas. Being the official Champions League in 2021, Pepsi brought football this time on TikTok and to its idols. The partnership with Ianis came naturally in #PepsiChallenge, since their collaboration in 2020.
The brand continues the heritage of the great champions: in the spirit of competition and the supreme sport, it brings athletes closer to their fans, trying new fun challenges using new mediums and new features.
"We continue to build on Pepsi vision of being the world’s most loved football entertainment brand, creating iconic off-the-pitch entertainment experiences. One example of this kind of activations is the Tik-Tok #PepsiChallange that aims to allow fans around the world to duet with the Messi. Pepsi local talent, Ianis Hagi has accepted the #PepsiChallenge and now is inviting Romanian fans to join in, have fun and enjoy football wherever they are."
Alexandra Constantin (Brand Manager, PepsiCo)
The campaign takes place in Romania, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Russia, and the challenge is Pepsi's way to train consumers for Champions League, whom matches start in April.
Hop on, you're a pass away from making a duet with Ianis or Messi! Join the #PepsiChallenge, get the can and ball ready, then amaze TikTok with your duet!
PepsiCo:
Delia Corniciuc – Sr. Marketing Manager Beverages
Iuliana Dragomir – Sr. Brand Manager
Alexandra Constantin – Brand Manager
Ema Bădângă – Jr. Brand Manager
Laurențiu Ion – Sr. Digital & Media Manager Beverages
Oana Andone – Digital Specialist Beverages
KUBIS
Ada Gheorghiu - Group Account Director
Georgiana Feriu - Account Manager
Sebastian Luba - Head of Social Media
Vlad Iosipescu - Social Media Manager
Carina Toma - Group Creative Director
Victor Firan - Sr. Art Director
Alexandra Aliman - Copywriter
OMD
Razvan Meirosu: Media Director
Mihnea Pretorian: Digital Director
Dana Constantin: Digital Manager
Sebastian Stroescu: Digital Executive
Maria Alexandra Nita: Senior Media Manager
Irene Derasadurian: Media Manager
Cristiana Gherghelescu: Media Manager
