• by Danielle Oster , September 12, 2024

Pepsi launched a twist on its “Better With Pepsi” platform, treating the purported pairing benefits of the beverage with an unusual sense of urgency.

The “Pepsi Chase Cars” hero adopens with a pizza delivery guy ringing a doorbell, startled to find a man running up behind him with a case of Pepsi, followed by the message: “Pizza tastes better when chased by a Pepsi.” Get it?

The ad then depicts a fleet of “Pepsi Chase Cars” whose drivers show up uninvited on people’s doorsteps to deliver Pepsi, often irritating the pizza delivery guys they’re following. Near the conclusion of the ad, the brand acknowledges this behavior is “kind of weird,” but argues “making people eat pizza without Pepsi” is “just wrong.”

The campaign is running on digital and mobile channels including YouTube, and  paid social media placements focused on Instagram and TikTok – as well as organic postings on the brand’s owned social channels.

The creation of the campaign itself was something of a race to the finish line, according to the brand. “’Pepsi Chase Cars’ was an idea that we just saw on the page weeks ago. We fell in love with it,” Pepsi senior director and head of brand marketing Jenny Danzi told Marketing Daily, adding that the brand and agency partner BBDO put together a “tight team” who were “passionate” about the campaign and “focused on doing this quickly and efficiently. We’re a challenger brand and operate that way.”

One issue? “Legal did not love the idea of genuinely chasing the [pizza delivery] cars,” Danzi added. So the brand decided to cast skilled improvisers who could capture the spontaneity at the heart of the concept.

Ultimately Pepsi was able to bring the concept to life in time for what it characterizes as pizza delivery season. “Back to school is back to pizza night too,” Danzi explained, as busy parents turn to the tradition on Friday to cap off a tiring week.

Pepsi is promoting the campaign through a partnership with DoorDash, offering a “Pepsi Chase Cars” promotional deal Sept. 13 to kick off that season. Delivery customers on DoorDash who pair their pie with Pepsi can get a free pizza  of any size, with any number of toppings through pizza chains Little Caesars, Marco’s Pizza, Papa Johns or Pizza Hut.

Beyond the main ad, the campaign includes a series of “snackable content” and Danzi hinted at the potential for more to come, noting “We have “more content up our sleeves and will be monitoring engagement and interactions.”