Pepsi's At-Home Tailgate Sweeps Scores

I like what Pepsi does from a marketing standpoint. And now, with the kickoff of what is sure to be a unique NFL season right around the corner, the long-time league sponsor has delivered another PR touchdown.

My themes don’t deviate in terms of what I tend to like. On brand. Experiential. Production that over-delivers on ROI. Multiple story angles with the ability to pitch to various verticals. Built-in brand integration opportunities. Tapping into consumers and conversation. Oh yea, and above all, concepts that are cleverly simple.

Pepsi’s “Tailgate in a Box” checks all the…uhhh…boxes.

In short, with in-person tailgating experiences likely a thing of the past for the 2020 season, Pepsi is offering NFL fans the chance to re-create the stadium parking lot tailgate at home. Love it. The more specific details are as follows:

Valued at nearly $5,000, the package includes a 16-square-foot tailgating box that comes equipped with an outdoor projector, custom cornhole sets and a variety of Pepsi product

The brand is offering this sweet set up for 20 lucky fans and interested parties can throw their hat in the ring at a branded microsite that dives deeper into “homegating.” What I loved most is that Pepsi chose to show the experience “in action” with a lucky Jets-loving couple (I can relate). The resulting content - from photos of their home-gate set-up to filmed behind-the-scenes-videos and a surprise video from former Jet and Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin - all works hard without a ton of associated costs.

Tip of the helmet to the folks at Pepsi. And, of course, #TakeFlight.