It’s no secret that hip hop defines music culture. During Pepsi’s 10th and final year as title sponsor for the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show – we brought hip hop center stage for the first time in the show’s history. Leveraging one of the most iconic music entertainment stages, Pepsi’s In-House Content Studio set out to memorialize the team behind the historic performance and reflect on an overdue moment in time for music, Black communities, and culture – through an evergreen piece, The Show: California Love which further validates the cultural impact of hip hop.

The challenge was to connect with audiences beyond the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show and use the performances to further our mission of shining a light on marginalized voices in music, lifting up communities of color, and providing inspiration for the next generation.

Taking place in Los Angeles, California – home to the West Coast rap movement – timing was right to honor the chart-topping genre. Featuring Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar – both from Compton – Snoop Dogg from Long Beach, Mary J. Blige and Eminem, these five artists collectively hold 43 Grammys and 22 No. 1 Billboard albums, and their music has served as the soundtrack to the lives of generations of fans.

The 90-minute documentary gives audiences a closer look into the creative journey behind the moment and was designed to inspire change in representation at scale - through the objective of focusing on diversity above

As soon as the artist lineup was announced, history was made. From B.B. King and Ray Charles, to Aretha Franklin and Beyonce, Pepsi has a deep and established legacy in celebrating musical artists across a variety of genres. Back to the creation of blues, jazz, hip hop, R&B and country music through to today, brand Pepsi has been there. This Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show performance marked a historical moment in culture and diversity, for the talent on the stage and behind the camera. We wanted to memorialize these stories through the lens of diversity and leverage the opportunity to do so with a piece of compelling entertainment.

Brand Pepsi financed the feature documentary, The Show: California Love, in partnership with the NFL and Roc Nation that would capture the historic nature of the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show performance by the artists, and the significance of the behind-the-scenes storylines of the creative community who produced the show.

Emmy-nominated Erik Parker was selected as the director. Having extensive experience in creating content around the Black experience, Erik brought an authenticity and voice to the project that was essential.Our storylines focused on the diverse department heads and staff including executive producer, musical director, choreographer, announcers, dancers, performers and crew. We featured Adam Blackstone, Fatima Robinson, MC Lyte, Jesse Collins, as well as lesser-known local performers, such as The Black Diamonds Drill Team. We shared the highly pressurized activities behind the scenes – all with the end goal of memorializing this historic event and providing inspiration.

Moving from sponsor of the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show to financier and producer, we were able to shine a light on the underrepresented talent working behind the scenes on this historic performance. Premiering December 23, 2022 on Showtime, The Show: California Love follows the first installment of The Show that shared an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the 2021 Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring The Weeknd, and was a finalist at the Tribeca X Awards. With its exclusive distribution partner, Showtime, The Show: California Love was able to reach a vast audience of streaming and linear viewers to truly demonstrate representation at scale.

Director Erik Parker provided a clear vision for the film championing the behind the scenes journey of the diverse all-star team of creatives behind the performance of the ages.

The overall campaign and performance yielded 80.4 Billion impressions, while achieving a 74% Share of Voice on Twitter, and a +3 pt Share Swing to the top competitor. Additionally, the performance went on to win three Emmy Awards — another first for the history books. Furthermore, the campaign cemented the legacies of music legends Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.