Pepsi today introduced its team of 19 int'l soccer players, including Barcelona F Lionel Messi, Manchester United F Robin van Persie and MLS Sounders F Clint Dempsey, that will make up the soft drink maker's "Live for Now" campaign for '14. The players will star in Pepsi's global TV ad campaign later this year, while select players will appear on packaging and point of sale of Pepsi Max beginning in March. Other aspects of the campaign, including integrations with art, music and interactive experiences, will be unveiled throughout the year (Pepsi).
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | PLAYER | COUNTRY |
| Sergio Aguero | Argentina | Victor Moses | Nigeria |
| Juan Guillermo Cuadrado | Colombia | Peter Osaze Odemwingie | Nigeria |
| Clint Dempsey | U.S. | Oribe Peralta | Mexico |
| Tarik Elyounoussi | Norway | Andriy Pyatov | Ukraine |
| Maynor Figueroa | Honduras | Sergio Ramos | Spain |
| Mario Gomez | Germany | Mohamed Salah | Egypt |
| Vincent Kompany | Belgium | Gylfi Por Sigurosson | Iceland |
| Kemar Lawrence | Jamaica | Robin van Persie | The Netherlands |
| David Luiz | Brazil | Jack Wilshere | England |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | | |
RIDING THE WORLD CUP WAVE: In London, Andy Hodgson reported while Pepsi is not a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, the company traditionally launches a "new ad campaign in every year the tournament takes place to capitalise on the buzz around the event." Pepsi in '10 had several players, including MLS Red Bulls F Thierry Henry and Turkish club Galatasaray F Didier Drogba, team up "for a match with kids in Africa" in advance of the South Africa World Cup, while David Beckham and Brazilian club
Atlético Mineiro MF Ronaldinho in '06 were among the players to "challenge a group of Lederhosen-wearing Bavarian dancers" when the World Cup was in Germany (
London EVENING STANDARD, 1/15). The move comes after Coca-Cola, an
official FIFA sponsor, yesterday introduced 18 mini-bottle designs to commemorate the World Cup. The designs represent past and future World Cup host countries. The "bottles (which contain no actual soda) are also interactive," as consumers can use Facebook or mobile apps to "create special messages and avatars that can be delivered to other bottle owners" (
ADAGE.com, 1/14).
