Launched in 2021, the original Better With Pepsi campaign showed Pepsi pairs better with burgers compared to Coke, even though fast food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King only served the latter.

After the campaign, Better With Pepsi became more than a tagline— it became a core marketing platform for the brand, and an unapologetic reminder to enjoy your favorite food and beverages with what tastes best: a refreshing Pepsi.

In 2023, Pepsi wanted to continue with this platform and focus on a new category— alcohol. Specifically, the classic rum and cola. For over 100 years, Rum and Coke has been a staple on cocktail menus, but blind taste tests prove 56% of participants prefer mixing rum with Pepsi compared to Coke. This was the perfect opportunity to bring back #BetterWithPepsi to remind bar and restaurant owners what soda pairs best and gives their customers the optimal drinking experience.

The campaign uses photography and paper art to show that, once a bottle of rum has sat in ice water and the label gets wet and crinkles, we can uncover the Pepsi globe hidden in plain sight within the logos of some of the world's most popular brands. While Pepsi might not be on their cocktail menu, it’s always in the picture.

After the brand’s blind taste tests proved 56% of participants prefer mixing rum with Pepsi compared to Coke, they saw a perfect opportunity to leverage the #BetterwithPepsi platform. The campaign appealed to bar and restaurant owners, challenging their common pairing of Rum and Coke, while creatively and provocatively showing how Pepsi is the preferred mixer. After all, why limit your customers to the other cola if it's proven that rum tastes #BetterWithPepsi?

We wanted to leverage this global cultural habit to continue encouraging consumers to always challenge the norm, and choose the optimal way to enjoy their favorite food and beverages.

After producing the hero images, we planned our media for National Rum Month, a time where conversations around the cocktail would be higher.

We dropped the images across social media and via SEO buys, ran them in OOH and print outside bars and liquor stores, and even took over digital menu displays inside bars to encourage people to drink Rum & Pepsi. All these touchpoints served as a reminder for those behind the bar to consider the better option.

The images earned 432MM impressions via earned media and OOH, and 589 bars in the U.S. switched to Pepsi from Coke.

While there were no campaign benchmarks, the work continued building on the brand’s wider Better With Pepsi marketing platform, raising awareness around Pepsi as a superior product. The images even caught the attention of leaders at Captain Morgan, who graciously delivered a life-sized Captain statue to Pepsi’s headquarters, letting them know they agree their rum goes #BetterWithPepsi and opening the door for future collaborations. Other brands also wanted in on the social media convo, including Demo TropiCoco Rum, Neptune Rum, Sailor Jerry’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.