Megan Thee Stallion and NFL star Travis Kelce to star in hit Pepsi TV commercial inspired by Paramount's upcoming film Gladiator 2 epic movie.
Appearances at the Coliseum will also kick off the 2024 NFL season with the Make your game day special commercial will feature football stars Josh Allen, Derrick Henry and Justin Jefferson, who love soda. The latest colossal Gladiatorthemed ad campaign — which fuses the worlds of music, sports and entertainment — comes after the epic 2004 Super Bowl spot Roman Empire with Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Pink.
Pepsi backs a Gladiator film release, this time ahead of Paramount Pictures’ sequel, which hits theaters on November 22. Ridley Scott directed Paramount’s follow-up to his 2000 historical epic, which starred Russell Crowe and won five Academy Awards.
Gladiator 2 actors Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen raise their swords several decades after the events of the first film set in ancient Rome.
Pepsi’s latest commercial will star Megan Thee Stallion as Empress Megan, leading a legion of NFL superstars transformed into football gladiators in an epic battle with the frozen beverage at the center of the action.
The spot will open with Lamorne Morris and Jake Lacy peering into a can of Pepsi Zero Sugar, just as it transforms into a Coliseum. Empress Megan then calls the shots and the NFL players are at her beck and call, as they all vie for her favor and a sip of an ice-cold Pepsi to officially say, “Let Game Day Begin!” as the Coliseum transforms into an NFL stadium.
Megan Thee Stallion will also debut a new matchday anthem as the soundtrack to the campaign, featuring the recognisable “boom, boom, clap” from Queen’s “We Will Rock You” as the soundtrack to the lyrics.
“I am honored to follow in the footsteps of the legends that have appeared in this Gladiator campaign 20 years ago and I’m proud to have created my new legacy,” Megan Thee Stallion said in a statement.
THE Make your match day epic The campaign is produced by Ridley Scott Associates, Paramount Brand Studio and directed by Jake Scott.