Home » Media » Press Releases » Pepsi Changes The Game
Pepsi Changes the Game, brings Didier Drogba to India for ‘Pepsi T20 Football’ Finale
- Cricket meets football in a star studded extravaganza
- Drogba coaches the winners of Pepsi’s Game Changing tournament
- Delhi’s SPG team emerges as ‘Game Changers’ and plays one of a kind friendly Pepsi T20 Football match with the Indian cricket stars
Youngistaan
New Delhi, 17 June 2012: India witnessed international football sensation, Didier Drogba coach the national winners of the mega tournament, Pepsi T20 Football which has been creating waves across the nation over the past few months. In its move to promote the sport in the country, Pepsi invited its global brand ambassador and iconic player, Didier Drogba to encourage grassroots talent, as well as provide Indian fans an opportunity to get closer to their football hero.
As part of the Pepsi T20 Football finale, eight best amateur teams from around the country played against each other to emerge victorious and get an opportunity of a lifetime to be coached by Drogba. They were then joined by Bollywood superstar and avid football fan, Ranbir Kapoor to play a friendly football match with the Indian cricket stars including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Vijay. The cricketers’ team was coached by India’s very own football star, Baichung Bhutia. Football fever gripped the national capital as thousands of football enthusiasts enjoyed the thrill of the sport and witnessed Drogba<.I> share interesting tips with the winning team at the Thyagraj Stadium. The event was truly a one of a kind Pepsi extravaganza with the unique blend of football, cricket, entertainment and the excitement of Youngistaan.
On his maiden visit to India for Pepsi T20 Football, Didier Drogba said, “I am thrilled to come to India for Pepsi T20 Football, which is a unique initiative to promote football in the country. It is also great to see football gain acceptance in a country where cricket is a religion and would like to congratulate Pepsi for being the first ever brand to bring both these two sports together for the very first time. Pepsi has truly Changed the Game. I look forward to another visit to India and get to interact more with football enthusiasts here.”
Homi Battiwalla, Category Director, Colas, Hydration and Mango Based Beverages, PepsiCo India said, “Pepsi has always been at the forefront of celebrating youth passions including cricket, movies, music and now football. Internationally, we have a strong association with football and are delighted with the success of our first football campaign in India. The response to our on-air campaign along with the one of its kind grassroots tournament, Pepsi T20 Football has been unprecedented; and with Didier Drogba’s visit, we have truly Changed the Game. We look forward to bringing the tournament back in a bigger and better avatar next year.”.
“Drogba is an iconic player with unmatched popularity across the globe. His visit to India for Pepsi T20 Football is a testimony to our ultimate objective of popularizing football in the country,” he added.
Drogba’s visit to India was part of Pepsi’s first football campaign in the country that was launched with an irreverent TVC starring Ranbir Kapoor, which set the tone for the real action. It was followed by Pepsi T20 Football - an innovative format for youngsters, which combined the excitement and fun of T20 style of playing cricket with the speed, thrill and spirit of football. Organized in a unique metallic cage, the tournament was held in major Indian cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Delhi, with phenomenal response. A total of 3,136 players in 448, seven-a-side teams competed in knock-out style 20-minute matches to reach the city finals. Eight teams, including one winning team from each city and one wild card entry from their Facebook community competed in the grand finale to emerge as ‘Game Changers’. Drogba, along with other international footballers - Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, and Indian cricket stars also featured in Pepsi’s spectacular ‘Football meets Cricket’ TV commercial.
The campaign was supported by a 360-degree approach including on-air, outdoor & on-ground initiatives; special edition packaging featuring and digital engagement programmes.
For more fun and excitement, log on to Facebook – www.facebook.com/PepsiIndia or follow @PepsiCTG on Twitter.
For further information, please contact:
Parakram Hazarika / Harpreeti Bassi / Ruchika Gupta Nitin Yadav
Genesis Burson-Marsteller PepsiCo India
parakram.hazarika@bm.com / harpreeti.bassi@bm.com ruchika.gupta@bm.com / nitin.yadav@pepsico.com
+91-9711311668 / +91-9999380178 / +91-9873551248 +91-9811278920
Facebook
LinkedIn
You Tube