#ChristmasRefreshed
Bringing advertising and music together on one platform

Every year Pepsi MAX face the challenge of rivalling Coke during Christmas with a 10:1 spend disadvantage. In response, they opted to refresh things, eschewing the traditional sugar-coated holiday imagery for something that chimed with their audience.

Markets
globally

24%

Global executions
created in 3 weeks

235

Creative
brand impact

97%

The Challenge

Christmas has always been Coke’s season. The truck. The Santa. The snow. And a media budget that dwarfs everyone else. Pepsi MAX was being outspent 10 to 1, but we saw a chance to win by doing what Coke wouldn’t: challenge the clichés.

The Cultural Opportunity

Coke gives you their version of Christmas, cosy, traditional, same every year. We offered something different. A Christmas shaped by real people, real culture and real energy. Out went the snowy scenes and jumpers. In came palm trees, tracksuits and two rappers tearing it up across Europe. The hero film, Santa CCTV, imagined Father Christmas caught red-handed taste-testing Pepsi MAX. It went viral fast, hijacking festive feeds and turning Pepsi MAX into the season’s most unexpected cultural moment.

Impact

The campaign ran in 7 markets across Europe with over 150 pieces of content created Market share gains were seen across every region: +0.8% in the UK, +1.3% in Ireland, +5% in Denmark, +2.3% in the Netherlands. The Santa CCTV racked up;

12.6 million views
320,000 likes
51 million shares
27 million comments