Pepsi set out to drive recycling awareness and education in a fun and authentic way, therefore the brand launched Trash Talk, an interactive sustainability platform aimed at teaching consumers the ins and outs of recycling, with the help of an all-star lineup of trash talking NFL athletes.

Pepsi Trash Talk celebrates the brand's important move to sustainable packaging as it announces its goal that all Pepsi-branded products in the U.S. will be converted to 100% rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate plastic) bottles by 2030, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100% rPET bottles by 2022. PepsiCo estimates that moving to a 100% rPET bottle will lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 30% per bottle, with 22 global markets now offering a PepsiCo product in 100% rPET packaging and 11 European markets moving key Pepsi-branded products to 100% rPET bottles by 2022.

Given its footprint in sports, Pepsi created a cultural conversation around recycling by partnering with NFL athletes to create a consumer centric platform that drives awareness and advocacy towards recycling.

Fans can visit PepsiTrashTalk.com to check out their favorite players like Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Chase Claypool and more, who offer similar tips and tricks on recycling and trash talking. An interactive educational game on PepsiTrashTalk.com challenges fans to spot the difference between recyclables and trash, and a Pepsi Trash Talk Hall of Fame will celebrate fans who unapologetically show off their best trash talk. Pepsi Trash Talk was supported via a robust media plan, including content and live reads on top sports podcasts and digital channels from the king of trash talk himself, Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders.

Pepsi found that 74% of Americans are very/extremely concerned about the environment, but Americans only recycle 34% of its overall ways because recycling systems are increasingly complicated – the network of symbols do more to confound than to explain. With these insights, Pepsi created Trash Talk. Consumers play a vital role in the availability of rPET, so Pepsi tapped their most influential platform, the NFL, to create a sustainability-forward narrative that drives recycling awareness, education and advocacy in an entertaining way, authentic to the brand and audience.

Trash Talk leverages a mix of PSA, collaborations with Barstool Sports and Pardon My Take, and gamification tactics to teach consumers about the importance of recycling and dispel common misconceptions about what materials are suited to be repurposed. It launched less than a week after NFL regular-season kickoff.

Pepsi created PSAs featuring professional NFL athletes Anthony Barr, Sam Hubbard and Chase Claypool showing the difference between trash and recycling. The content lives on PepsiTrashTalk.com, which also includes entertaining and educational content around sustainability and recycling, including informational videos, a desktop recycling game and a "Playbook" where consumers can learn recycling do's and don'ts.

Deion Sanders, one of the greatest trash talkers in sports history, was brought onboard to be the face of the Trash Talk program. He was featured in multiple videos on the website including a long form video where he engaged in trash talk with Michael Irvin.

To reach more consumers, Pepsi created the Pepsi Trash Talk Challenge which was a surprise and delight live activation displayed during Super Bowl Week in Los Angeles. Consumers were able to learn about recycling while interacting with Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin on interactive recycling machines.