for the love of it

First let's set the mood, it was 2019, before the pandemic (what a cool time). Now we can deep dive to the project, we had the opportunity of working, for the second time in a row, with PepsiCo’s Latin America Food Services department around Burger King’s annual events for their global network of franchisers.

The recipe for this project called for the perfect mix of Pepsi’s fizzy personality, bottled together with Burger King’s colorful charm/global ambition/humorous character with a pinch of Miami’s sunny flare.

We will walk you through what we were tasked to do, how we delivered a Pepsi-worthy experience through the use of design, video editing, a series of illustrations brought together to create the illusion of a 3D mural, interactive screens and technology, and how we conceptualized a groundbreaking approach to an otherwise straightforward party hosted in Miami’s acclaimed Versace Mansion.

behind the project

Each year, Burger King hosts a convention for all their partner franchises and suppliers to unveil innovations and pipeline projects, fizzing up excitement and anticipation for the year to come (think: Apple’s annual Developers Convention).

In 2018, we had the opportunity to create an innovative VR experience for Pepsi’s booth at the same convention hosted in Orlando, which was solely intended for Burger King’s partner franchises in the LATAM arena.

This year, not only was the convention’s location shifted south to the shores of Miami, but Burger King went global. For the first time ever, all of Burger King’s franchisers from all corners of the globe came together under one roof. Thanks to our ability to bring to life an out-of-this-world campaign for PepsiCo in 2018, we were entrusted with bringing together this year’s PepsiCo deliverables with the same thirst for creativity.

That’s when we knew: we had to go big. If there was any time to create an unforgettable impression, it was now. We were bubbling with excitement.

what we were going for

Our main purpose was to create an all-around Pepsi branded experience, starting with our main stage: the convention booth. Much like a Pepsi-playground, we wanted to leverage the booth as a centerpiece of Pepsi experiences where the brand could come to life and attendees would want to come and interact with the elements and activities. We wanted to make the spaces visually engaging, totally original, dynamic and, most of all, surprising.

Besides making the booth look perfectly Pepsi through booth layout and graphic design, we also incorporated immersive elements that were hard to miss.

what we did

Pepsi Global Best Practices

We all know Pepsi is a world leader when it comes to their products. We wanted to create a space where the same could be said for their communications. In the vein of showcasing Pepsi’s global campaigns, we wanted to create a completely immersive experience to highlight Pepsi’s best campaign practices in partnership with Burger King. Through four (4) vertical screen panels placed strategically around the booth equipped with noise-canceling headphones, convention attendees were able to witness Pepsi’s six (6) campaigns at a global level that were successful. The purpose? Encouraging other Burger King franchise partners to carry out Pepsi’s campaigns into their own communications and their own markets. The six (6) showcased campaigns were the Lipton promo from France, UEFA Champions League Multimarket activity, a Pepsi promo from Russia, a Pepsi music campaign from the Dominican Republic, a Pepsi promo from India and a Sabritas (Lays) holidays campaign from Mexico. Our team created animated videos for each best practice campaign using the elements we received from each one of Pepsi’s markets. By adapting graphic elements from each individual campaign, our design team transformed them into six (6) cohesive case studies through the use of motion graphics to create a seamless final piece. Furthermore, all videos included a voice-over highlighting the most important aspects and results of each campaign to the viewers. To accomplish this, our team developed personalized scripts, as well as recorded the final audio.

Fizzy Films/Pepsi on the big (and little) screen

Incorporated into the design of the booth were two screens — a wall-sized horizontal screen on the periphery of the booth facing out towards the convention, and a smaller vertical screen placed inside the booth’s walls. Through skillful video editing, our team brought to life two different videos serving two different purposes. On the larger horizontal screen, we compiled footage from Pepsi’s most recent campaigns from all over the world. We created a visual journey that took viewers from Pepsi’s Lipton commercial in France to their Champions League spots (where Pepsi is the primary sponsor), to their astronaut spot starring Hollywood favorites Paul Rudd and Michael Peña, all the way back to Colombia for their H2Oh commercial. On the smaller screen, we wanted to bring Pepsi’s products to life, creating a bespoke graphic animation of their most important product attributes. By looping together footage of Pepsi’s products in action (think: fizz and mouth-watering soda), we were successful at communicating pure refreshment and satisfaction.

Photo-Opps

As we all know, no brand experience is ever complete without a photo-opp. We challenged ourselves as designers and illustrators to meaningfully and seamlessly bring Pepsi’s astronaut campaign to life through a highly photogenic and visually engaging space.

Inside the booth, an entire wall was dedicated to a mural of illustrations based on the campaign, giving the illusion of a 3D montage. Our illustration elements included two astronauts — when the picture was taken, without any need for further editing, it gave the illusion that our space-themed illustrations were floating around and that the mural was actually 3D. We specifically chose this campaign because we felt a lot of potential to make something fun and interactive. We were absolutely pleased with the engagement and receptivity of the attendees with this component. More importantly, our client was very happy with the execution and the result of our efforts.

Putting Pepsi on the map

In addition to our digitally immersive booth components, we also created a map inside the booth to proudly showcase Pepsi’s presence in partnership with Burger King around the world. The main objective here was to visually show those countries where there’s a Pepsi and Burger King partnership in an appealing and interactive way. As a cherry on top, our team also mapped out some of Pepsi’s most successful products around those areas.

For PepsiCo’s presence at Burger King’s annual convention, we wanted to integrate various types of interactive elements that would be both interactive and engaging to our booth visitors. As an innovative and refreshing brand, we wanted to properly translate what PepsiCo stands for into one single cohesive space. Through teamwork, innovation and with the collaboration of our wonderful client, we were very happy with how everything came together.

walking the black carpet - a night of camera flashes at miami’s hottest venue

Burger King isn’t the only one who throws an unforgettable annual event. Each year, when all of Burger King’s franchisers gather in the same zip code, Pepsi hosts a soiree of their own in honor of Burger King’s markets partnering with Pepsi.

The location? Miami’s hottest venue located on the shores of Miami Beach. The Versace Mansion.

The ask? Creating a concept that would be worthy of Pepsi.

The concept? Walking The Black Carpet. When we knew about the event’s location, we knew we had to go big. We set out to make every single guest feel like an A-list celebrity, the creme-de-la-creme of Hello Magazine, like Scarlett Johansson at the MET Gala. By merging together Versace’s glitzy and fabulous flare with Pepsi’s bubbly and fresh personality, we brought to Miami a night of camera flashes and fame.

On the guest list

Much like any unforgettable event, it all starts with the invitation. We know that the invitation sets the tone for the entire evening, so we decided to go big. Long gone are the days of 2D, printed invites. We went digital.

The invitation’s landing page displayed an explosion of golden sparkles designed to be interactive with the movement of the keypad surrounding a reinterpretation of Pepsi logo twisted together with Versace’s style. A button inviting recipients to “Unlock Invitation” added an air of exclusivity and intrigue. The invitation continued to a page where guests could confirm their attendance and, at the same time, discover what they were in for.

Celebrity central

Through the process of creative conception, we created a hybrid between Pepsi and Versace’s identities. Merging the brands through the design of party elements and wardrobe, we created the perfect hybrid. At the entrance was a greeting area with a visually powerful backdrop, much like the interview sets at carpet events. Three of Pepsi’s brand influencers were there to greet the guests at the entrance. To make sure everything stayed on brand, our team designed, printed, and produced specially made silk printed outfits with our Pepsi-meets-Versace hybrid design.

Of course, because our guests were A-List celebrities, we had to greet them with “Who are you wearing?” “Tell us all about your last film with George Clooney!” “We hear Oscar nomination buzz, can you confirm?” We also couldn’t help but have the paparazzi snap fabulous pictures of them, which will be sent to them ahead of the event.

To uphold the look and feel of being at a black carpet event, a script was even created for the serving staff so they could keep up the ruse as they interacted with guests. As they served guests a drink, the staff would politely ask them for a picture or ask them for a quick autograph.

Animated Attributes

Interlaced with the mansion’s design and the backdrop of Versace’s pool, our team installed a giant Pepsi cup that was brought to life through a projection of an edited sequence.

Our video mapping animation was divided into two key parts. The first was a still image of Pepsi’s logo accompanied by their product’s iconic bubbles, representing a static glass of Pepsi. The second segment reflected Pepsi Black’s personality through animations and ley elements.

The objective here was to create an immersive experience inside party that would bring the product to life.

liv-ing it up

To continue Pepsi’s presence in Miami, we decided to invade Burger King’s post-convention party at LIV Nightclub in South Beach, Miami, one of the most iconic clubs in the world.

At this event, Pepsi wanted to bring the same immersive experience of video mapping that was installed at the Pepsi Black event at the Versace Mansion. So we brought the giant Pepsi cup and set it up at the entrance of the club displaying the same video mapping edit. This was a great way to solidify a great Pepsi-presence at the party, as well as being a great photo-opp for the guests.

Our team had an absolute blast experimenting with various technologies, media verticals, concepts, and designs. At our creative studio, we constantly strive for innovation, which in turn, presents us with new sets of challenges and obstacles. But these are the very things that enable us to keep growing, developing our skills, and delivering superior work to our clients.