- Pepsi has launched "Pepsi Football Nation," a multi-year global platform featuring Sir David Beckham, Mohamed Salah, Alexia Putellas, Vini Jr., Lauren James, and Florian Wirtz, with a cameo from chef Gordon Ramsay.
- The campaign film sees Beckham hand a playbook to fans, inviting them to set the "rules" of the Pepsi Football Nation, covering fan superstitions, skill debates, and pitch-settling traditions.
- Pepsi is launching a browser extension that automatically replaces the word "soccer" with "football" across the web, enforcing Rule #1 of the Pepsi Football Nation.
- Pepsi has been part of football's biggest moments for 50 years, spanning world-class tournaments and stadium events including the UEFA Champions League Kick Off Show.
Pepsi has unveiled “Pepsi Football Nation,” a new multi-year global platform celebrating football culture beyond the 90 minutes. The campaign film stars Sir David Beckham, Mohamed Salah, Alexia Putellas, Vini Jr., Lauren James, and Florian Wirtz, with a guest appearance from chef Gordon Ramsay.
The film opens with Beckham handing the playbook to fans, who then define the rules, from sacred superstitions to settling everything on the pitch.
Scenes include Wirtz speed-parking a car verified by VAR, James delivering a university lecture on the offside trap, and blockbuster-style sequences featuring Putellas, Salah, and Vini Jr.
Just last month, Vini Jr. was also featured in Rexona’s FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign alongside Cole Palmer and Christian Pulisic, highlighting his rising status as one of football’s most sought-after commercial faces.
This isn’t the first Pepsi rodeo for several stars in the campaign. Salah has been with Pepsi since June 2016, when he first signed on as brand ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa.
Beckham and Putellas previously starred together in Pepsi’s “Refresh the Game” campaign alongside Ronaldinho and Lauren James, which rolled out globally across the UK, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Brazil.
Off the back of the campaign, Putellas is riding high. She marked her 500th appearance for FC Barcelona on April 2, 2026, scoring once and providing two assists in a 6–0 Champions League quarter-final win over Real Madrid. Nike also recently elevated Putellas as a flagship athlete, unveiling her first signature boot and personal logo in early 2026.
Salah, meanwhile, is in the middle of a record-breaking Premier League season. In January 2026, he reached his 80th Champions League appearance for Liverpool and surpassed Wayne Rooney’s record for the most goal involvements for a single club in Premier League history. Beyond Pepsi, Salah also holds major deals with Adidas, Vodafone, and Audi.
Beckham, who was knighted in 2025, has been driving revenues of over $92 million annually through his holding company DRJB Holdings, fueled by partnerships with AliExpress, Stella Artois, and SharkNinja. He recently added a multi-year deal with HUGO BOSS to his portfolio.
Pepsi is not the only brand targeting the 2026 World Cup. Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, and Vinicius Jr. starred in LEGO’s 2026 World Cup campaign earlier this year showed, global brands are going all-in on football superstars as the 2026 FIFA World Cup summer approaches.
Takeaways
Pepsi isn’t just running a one-off ad. This is a multi-year platform stretching from Rio de Janeiro to London, rooted in always-on digital content, fan debates, creator collaborations, and anthem-led storytelling inspired by real football chants. That’s a long-term cultural play, not a one-shot commercial.
The brand clearly sees the run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the biggest brand battlefield in years, and they’ve loaded up with some of the most globally bankable names in the sport.
What’s also striking is the deliberate gender balance. By placing Putellas and James alongside Beckham, Salah, and Vini Jr. in equal-weight roles, Pepsi is making a visible statement about the growing commercial importance of women’s football.
Does the equal billing of women’s football stars like Putellas and James signal a permanent shift in how big brands value women’s sport? With the Pepsi Football Nation being a multi-year platform, which star from this roster do you think will become the breakout face of the campaign?
