The Bodega Giveback - Pepsi | Clapboard Ad Archive

Pepsi’s The Bodega Giveback holiday campaign in Year: 2020 spotlights the enduring resilience and essential contributions of New York City bodegas in an unprecedented season, affirming the brand’s roots in community recognition within the Food & Drink market category. As New Yorkers faced a transformed holiday period, Pepsi met the moment by inviting Bronx natives Desus Nice and The Kid Mero — celebrated cultural figures and the self-styled Bodega Boys — to anchor the campaign as credible and authentic champions of the city’s diverse neighborhoods, a strategic move that squarely positions the work within what Clapboard’s taxonomy classifies as FORMAT#8—Ongoing Characters or Celebrities. The choice to center Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, whose popularity and deep personal association with local bodega culture signal a campaign rigorously grounded in regional insight, forms the creative core of a content-led giveback initiative that asks New Yorkers to publicly share their own stories via #PepsiBodega. User-generated stories aggregate into a living social proof of the bodega’s irreplaceable role — not just as convenience outposts, but as central lifelines of the boroughs during a period of citywide hardship and reconnection. This activation eschews transactional tropes and technical demonstrations in favor of an influencer-led cultural celebration, amplifying Pepsi’s holiday message through the lived voices of New York’s own while sustaining brand presence at a critical time for neighborhood retail. The collaboration with agency partners reinforces Pepsi’s capability to respond to shifting social realities, translating consumer sentiment into a high-engagement content campaign, as evidenced by more than 4 million views and a visible outpouring of support in comments and likes that far exceeded conventional brand holiday efforts. The Bodega Giveback campaign represented a notable pivot in the non-alcoholic drinks space, situating Pepsi as a brand attentive to hyperlocal need and social contribution by shining a national spotlight on unsung heroes rather than purely the product, and leveraging personality-driven storytelling rather than seasonal platitudes. The campaign earns 69/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. For an industry where authenticity and community relevance are increasingly the currencies of impact, The Bodega Giveback stands as proof that a genuine celebration of local culture — magnified by the right creative voices — offers enduring value for brands seeking to move beyond transactional engagement.