Launched during National Rum Month, we leveraged print media to amplify Better With Pepsi Rum via newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal (where Coca-Cola is headquartered) and The New York Post, where the message would resonate most. All these touchpoints served as a reminder to consider the better option.

In the United States, the rum and cola cocktail is typically made with Coke. But, despite this, it’s proven that Pepsi is the preferred choice when enjoying your favorite rum. Although Pepsi can proudly be deemed the best tasting, the brand faces challenges via Coke’s market domination, largely fueled by the brand’s exclusivity rights that many businesses across the country have. So, the brand needed to create a campaign that creatively explained that consumers were getting the bar call order wrong all along.

As a follow-up to the original Better With Pepsi campaign where Pepsi challenged burger chains’ exclusivity deals with Coke, the Better With Pepsi Rum effort takes the magnitude of the platform to the next level, leaning into the universal tension of challenging the Rum and Coke, a drink known and enjoyed worldwide.

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 images earned 432MM impressions via earned media and OOH, and supported the brands effort to get 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.

As a challenger brand to Coke, Pepsi’s marketing often positions its products as the better choice. In the U.S., the brand also has unique challenges in that its competitor has many exclusivity rights, which prevent Pepsi from gaining a footprint in the marketplace. Because of these circumstances, Pepsi’s marketing naturally aims to stand out and create conversation around letting consumers choose for themself.