Situation:

Pepsi is known for creating big cultural moments. In 2018, the brand proved its commitment to and impact on culture with the first entertainment franchise launch. The PepsiCo Content Studio partnered with Lionsgate's Summit Entertainment and Temple Hill Productions to create the Uncle Drew feature film.

Brief:

Create the first ever feature film based on a branded content series.

Objectives:

Elevate Uncle Drew from a digital web series to a feature film, helping Pepsi create a cultural moment.

After a successful five years as a fan-favorite digital episodic series, originally conceived by Pepsi, Uncle Drew, hit theaters on June 29. Uncle Drew was directed by Charles Stone III. After draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, Dax (Lil Rel Howery) is dealt a series of unfortunate setbacks, including losing his team to his longtime rival (Nick Kroll). Desperate to win the tournament and the cash prize, Dax stumbles upon the man, the myth, the legend Uncle Drew (NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving) and convinces him to return to the court one more time. The two men embark on a road trip to round up Drew's old basketball squad (Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie) and prove that a group of seniors can still win the big one.

Build off success of digital series to become the first brand to make a feature film based on a branded content series. The key for Pepsi was to focus on the underlying brand DNA, the “spirit of youth,” and not make the film into a commercial. There was some organic product placement, like on-court during the Rucker Tournament, but otherwise the film really stands on its own as an entertaining sports comedy. In the weeks leading up to the film’s release, Pepsi promoted the movie with an award-winning TV spot showing how Uncle Drew had been drinking Pepsi since he was a young man in the 1970s.

103 minute full length sports comedy feature film

2,800 theaters

Additional distribution:

Streaming, DVD, Blu-ray & Airline

The movie was a commercial success and enjoyed widespread appeal (taking in over $44 million at the domestic box office, receiving a "certified fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” CinemaScore). In addition, it delivered exceptional ROI (over 5 billion earned media impressions), as well as authentically building Pepsi's equity by creating an ownable cultural moment. And this worldwide moment continued with the release in China in January, 2019.

It was also the subject of multiple inquiries from other large advertisers interested in developing similar campaigns. In the wake of its success, a New York Times headline read: “‘Uncle Drew’: Branding Vehicle or Feature Film? Yes.” And the Washington Post declared: “‘Uncle Drew’ shows that audiences will pay to watch branded content.” Finally, The Los Angeles Times headline read: "Uncle Drew Is The Surprise Comedy of The Summer."