Pepsi-Cola Adds Spike Lee to Super Bowl XXXVIII Commercial Roster

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Pepsi-Cola Adds New Player to Super Bowl XXXVIII Commercial Roster

SpikeDDB Joins the Pepsi Super Bowl Lineup

PURCHASE, N.Y./PRNewswire/ — Pepsi-Cola North America is adding 30 seconds of firepower to its Super Bowl XXXVIII roster, as a new spot directed by Spike Lee joins the fray. The new commercial brings Pepsi’s in- game advertising time to three-and-a-half minutes.

Created by Spike DDB, this new Pepsi ad is believed to be the first Super Bowl spot ever created by an African-American advertising agency.

In the commercial, called “Diner,” a heartsick man (played by Kel Mitchell, star of the sitcom “Keenan and Kel Show”) has his faith in love restored by a sassy waitress and a Pepsi. Mo’Nique, stand-up comedian and star of UPN’s “The Parkers,” delivers a memorable performance as the waitress.

“This commercial delivers the humor people expect from us in the Super Bowl while bringing home the food-friendly strategy of our ‘Pepsi. It’s the Cola’ campaign,” said Dave Burwick, SVP, chief marketing officer of Pepsi-Cola North America.

Spike Lee, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer for SpikeDDB said, “I’m very proud of the groundbreaking work that we’ve been able to do in partnership with Pepsi. The creative energy between our two companies has been fantastic.”

This will mark the 19th straight year that PCNA has advertised in the big game. “Diner” will be one of three Pepsi commercials that will premiere along with two Sierra Mist commercials, and a spot for the Pepsi iTunes promotion, which kicks off on Super Sunday.

Pepsi-Cola North America ( www.pepsi.com ), headquartered in Purchase, NY, is the $4 billion beverage division of PepsiCo, Inc. ( www.pepsico.com ) in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi ONE, Pepsi Blue, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Vanilla, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Mug, Sierra Mist, Slice, Aquafina, SoBe and Dole single-serve juices. The company also makes and markets North America’s #1 ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.

SpikeDDB is a full-service advertising agency focused on building brands against urban-minded consumers. The agency is a partnership formed by famed film director Spike Lee and DDB Worldwide Communications Group.

Source: Pepsi-Cola North America