Pepsi have released its newest commercial inspired by Paramount’s upcoming Gladiator sequel, Gladiator II.
Megan Thee Stallion and NFL star Travis Kelce appear in the advertisement alongside football stars Josh Allen, Derrick Henry and Justin Jefferson.
Television star Lamorne Morris, known for his role as Winston Bishop in New Girl, and US Office star Jake Lacy, who plays Peter Miller, also make an appearance.
In the most recent Pepsi commercial, Megan Thee Stallion plays Empress Megan, leading a horde of NFL players transformed into Gridiron Gladiators engaged in an epic fight with the icy beverage at the centre of it all.
In the commercial’s opening, Lamorne Morris and Jake Lacy are seen looking inside a Pepsi Zero Sugar can as it changes into a Colosseum.
When the Colosseum is transformed into an NFL stadium, Empress Megan declares the rules, and the players are under her authority.
They all compete for her approval and a frosty Pepsi as she announces, “Let Gameday Begin!”
Megan Thee Stallion also presented a new gameday anthem as a campaign soundtrack, with the recognizable “boom, boom, clap” from Queen’s “We Will Rock You” song backing the lyrics.
“I’m honoured to follow in the footsteps of the legends who appeared in this Gladiator campaign 20 years ago and proud to have carved my own new legacy,” Megan Thee Stallion said in a statement.
The Make Your Gameday Epic campaign is produced by Ridley Scott Associates and Paramount Brand Studio and directed by Jake Scott.
“Megan Thee Stallion is going to get people to pay attention. Travis Kelce and Josh Allen are going to get people to pay attention,” says John Halley, Paramount’s president of advertising, during an interview.
“It’s a first-class branding moment for Pepsi and one that is going to last.”
The campaign will last until the new Gladiator movie debuts in late November.
