With less than a week left before Super Bowl XLVI, which is both a major sport competition and an important advertising event, brands are bringing forth their new commercials or just teasers to hint on what the public will see in the breaks of the big game. Recently, we wrote about some of the auto adverts, which will be aired during the match on February 5 (since that time a bunch of new auto spots—Audi’s vampire story and Honda‘s ad featuring Matthew Broderick to name a few—have been revealed), and about Coca-Cola’s hilarious contribution, the Coke Polar Bowl interactive campaign. But what about Coke’s major rival, Pepsi? As it turns out, it also has something to show during the game—the brand created two ads, for Pepsi and Pepsi MAX, which will air this Sunday.
The first commercial is Pepsi’s ‘King’s Court’ 60-second ad featuring Melanie Amaro, THE X FACTOR 2011 winner, who is singing a new modern version of Aretha Franklin’s hit ‘Respect’ to music legend Sir Elton John, the ‘king of rock’. Those who will ‘Shazam’ the new medieval styled advert produced by TBWA/Chiat Day, will be able to watch Amaro’s music video for the song. The commercial, which has a humorous twist and is encouraging the audience to raise their voice and to be not afraid of anything, finishes with the ‘Where there’s Pepsi, There’s Music’ tagline.
The brand also developed a digital campaign, which will allow consumers to get more during the game. “Pepsi will enhance the fan Super Bowl experience through integrated digital programming. Highlights include: an NFL-themed version of Pepsi Sound Off, the first brand-led social TV platform, which was launched during THE X FACTOR to engage consumers in a real time viewing party with celebrity hosts,” says the press release. This campaign also includes promotion on Pandora, which will launch a “Pepsi-curated Super Bowl-themed station to listen to before, during and after the game”, as well as a tie-up with social network Get Glue—its users will be able “to check-in and unlock exclusive content and free Pepsi.”
The second Pepsi-branded commercial will be a humorous 30-second ad for Pepsi MAX, which continues the theme of the brand’s rivalry with Coca-Cola Zero. In the ad entitled ‘Check-Out’, a competitor’s deliveryman wants to purchase a can of Pepsi MAX secretly at the store, but the fate is unpredictable—he turns out to be the grand prize winner of ‘Pepsi MAX for Life’ and gets featured on the news thanks to the ‘on the spot’ reporter, Regis Philbin. The carbonated drink giant is also offerings its fans to win Pepsi MAX for Life by participating in its new Facebook creative competition, which is running through February 18.