• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

As FIFA fever intensifies, Pepsi has dropped its latest creation: a three-minute ad spot with Sir David Beckham handing rule-making authority over to a planet of unhinged fans.

The ad also features a who's who of current stars of the pitch, including Mohamed Salah, Vini Jr., Alexia Putellas, Lauren James, and Florian Wirtz, as well as a cameo by a cilantro-addled Gordon Ramsay. As fans argue the finer points — should diving be banned? Or is it an art form? Should the intricacies of offside be taught in universities? — the campaign offers a twist designed to give the rest of the world one less reason to hate Americans: It offers a web browser extension allowing people to change the word "soccer" to "football" whenever it appears in their searches.

The campaign, by Sauvage.TV, is also bringing the fight to Reddit, arguably the most contentious platform, with an activation that will allow fans to define their own rules and rituals.

"Football has always gone beyond what happens on the pitch during the 90 minutes," says Eugene Willemsen, CEO of PepsiCo's international beverages division, in the announcement. "It lives in conversations, rivalries, and traditions that bring fans together every day, across communities, markets, and generations. Pepsi Football Nation celebrates that culture and the many ways fans experience the game beyond the match itself."

The FIFA-fest is kicking off as Pepsi finally seems to be coming off the back foot, as sweeping changes within its food and beverage divisions begin to take hold. Last week, it reported revenue of $19.4 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 8.5%, with organic gains of 2.5%. That included low single-digit growth of both food and beverages in North America.

Pepsi's North American foods business "had been the main drag in recent years, but improvement continued during the quarter," writes Kristoffer Inton, an analyst who follows the CPG giant for Morningstar. "Organic volume growth of 2% outpaced the fourth quarter's 2% decline, as recipe innovation and affordability adjustments bore fruit."

And Inton thinks investors are underappreciating PepsiCo's potential. "As it continues to focus on innovation and affordability, we forecast the top line to grow at mid-single digits annually over the next 10 years."

Pepsi thinks it will find plenty of that growth on the soccer football pitch. In its recent earnings call, the company stressed its belief that partnerships with FIFA (as well as UEFA Champions League and F1) will enhance local relevance. And with Lay's sponsorship of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, it expects to drive significant consumer engagement around the tournament.