Game 4 was one for the history books — with New York
defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.
And while plenty of brands have been flexing their blue-and-orange credentials, Pepsi deserves an MVP nomination
for spinning that emotion into a high-speed campaign.
The latest in its ongoing "Knicks Fans Deserve Pepsi" series is themed "We Outside." The company tapped
photographers @shottinyc and Jack Underwood to capture all the feelings — roaming bars, street corners, and watch parties to document the thrill, the disbelief, the doubt, the shock, and
finally, the delirium.
Those images are being transformed into digital billboards around the city. Every face, the company says, is a real fan.
Pepsi,
which has deep NYC roots and has sponsored the Knicks since 2018, has been banking on Knicks fever all along.
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Weeks ago, a scavenger hunt campaign sent fans storming bodegas and pizza
restaurants looking for limited-edition Knicks collector cans — each hiding a pair of suite tickets to Game 2, one planted in each of the five boroughs, with clues dropped on social media.
The series moves to San Antonio this Saturday for Game 5.
New Yorkers are not the only ones savoring the playoffs. Game 3
drew a Nielsen-measured 23.8 million average viewers on ABC/ESPN — the strongest Game 3 result for the NBA Finals since 1998.
Pepsi isn't alone in riding the wave. Brands from fashion to
finance are all cashing in on a Knicks team that has not been on the championship stage in 27 years.
Vogue is tracking the most stylish merch — including the inside story on
Taylor Swift's instantly iconic Stevie Nicks T-shirt and how Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are Knicks-ifying their couple style.
On the food and drink side, Baked By Melissa is in the mix, and
Michelob Ultra is partnering with the NBA on the Knicks Playoff Bar Network.
And JP Morgan Chase, which has been a marquee sponsor of MSG since 2010, wandered the city surprising fans with free
tickets to Game 3.