• by Danielle Oster , Yesterday

Pepsi kicked off its “Tailgate Crashers” campaign with a new spot starring Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

The ad debuts Sept. 3 on national broadcast, ahead of the NFL season kicking off Sept. 4 with the Dallas Cowboys taking on Philadelphia, marking Pepsi’s 24th year as an NFL sponsor.

It opens on Allen and Jefferson trading their uniforms for a blue Pepsi uniform to toss cans of Pepsi to a crowd of tailgating fans.

“Tailgate Crashers” will air throughout the NFL season. The brand is also bringing “Tailgate Crashers” for “tailgate takeovers” at NFL stadiums including the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field, the New York Jets’ MetLife Stadium, the Washington Commanders’ Northwest Stadium, and SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.

More digital and social content includes a “Hot Ones Versus” video pitting the Bills’ Damar Hamlin against teammate Taylor Rapp; a four-part “Let Them Cook” home tailgating series starring the Eagles’ Jordan Mailata; and a “Tasty Tailgating” series highlighting fan favorite food options.

The campaign is the latest installment in Pepsi’s “Food Deserves Pepsi” platform highlighting food pairings with Pepsi, which debuted last year. Other recent  iterations on the platform include “Pepsi Crashes the BBQ,” and a summer “Share a Pepsi” campaign responding to Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” revival.

Pepsi isn’t the only brand with news about a partnership with Josh Allen today. Wellness technology company Theragun announced the Bills QB as its first “performance advisor” with a national campaign launch.