In today's world, consumers are increasingly skeptical of advertising and often find it hard to distinguish between what's authentic and what's just for show. This challenge is amplified during major events like the Super Bowl, where brands go all out and enlist A-list celebrities to promote their products.

In January 2023 Pepsi was coming out with a new and improved formula for their Pepsi Zero Sugar product. According to research, it was the best tasting Pepsi Zero Sugar ever, but we knew that if we just said that, people wouldn't necessarily believe it. So rather than driving a brand message, our goal was to spark curiosity, drive trial of the new Pepsi Zero Sugar and actually move product off the shelf.

Based on the overarching goal, our KPIs were straightforward: drive awareness of the new formula, drive trials by stoking curiosity and inviting consumers to try the product for themselves.

The idea came from the strategy of embracing people's skepticism around advertising. Instead, we leaned in to spark curiosity around the new taste of Pepsi Zero Sugar.

On Super Bowl, a day where brands go all out and enlist A-list celebrities to promote their products, we decided to turn this skepticism on its head and use two iconic celebrities to generate dialogue around whether they really liked the new taste or if they were just acting.

We offered a straightforward solution to the 100 million Americans watching: the only way to know is to try it yourself.

We brought the discussion to social, where people could actually volunteer to try for themselves using #RealOrActing and get one of the 10MM samples we were giving away. People chimed in immediately, and kept the conversation going all night with #RealOrActing used as a commentary device for other ads and even in-game action.

In January 2023 Pepsi was coming out with a new and improved formula for their Pepsi Zero Sugar product. According to research, the new taste was better than ever before.

The target was cola transitioners; men and women in their 30s and 40s.

With so many Zero Sugar cola options out there, we knew the best way to convince people the new and improved Pepsi Zero Sugar tasted great, was to simply get them to try it. So we used our Super Bowl commercials to do just that.

Call to action: The only way to know is to try it for yourself

By using #RealOrActing on social, people could receive one of 10MM samples we were giving away. The conversation dominated Twitter, where #RealOrActing was used to comment on football plays, interact with fans, and banter with other brands, asking if the actors were keeping it real or just acting.

There were two 30 second Super Bowl commercials, one with Ben Stiller and the other one with Steve Martin, both airing in the first half of the game. Each ad brought the discussion to social media, where people could actually volunteer to try for themselves and get one of the 10MM Pepsi Zero Sugar samples we were giving away. All they had to do was answer a promoted post on Twitter that posed the question: were Ben Stiller and Steve Martin acting or did they really like the new and improved taste of Pepsi Zero Sugar? (145/150)

The conversation dominated Twitter, where #RealOrActing was used to comment on football plays, interact with fans, and banter with other brands, asking if their actors were keeping it real or were just acting.

While the ad campaign drummed up a lot of attention and awareness that could be measured by the +36 Billion earned PR impressions, +500 Million views, and becoming the #1 most talked about beverage brand on Super Bowl night, the real results came after the Super Bowl, measured in sales.

In the week following the big game, Pepsi saw a sales spike in Pepsi Zero Sugar that was 51% higher than the yearly average and +18% shift in purchase behavior.

Of course, what would a trial campaign be without Pepsi putting its own money where its mouth is and offering up 10 million free samples of the new Pepsi Zero Sugar. This didn’t turn out to be a run of the mill sampling program, as the redemption rate on the offer to try the new Pepsi Zero Sugar was 9x higher than past Pepsi sampling campaigns.