Pepsi has recently announced its partnership with Global Citizen to produce a live-streamed concert featuring Lady Gaga, who is also curating the event. The show is being produced in support of front-line healthcare workers and the World Health Organization.
The soft-drinks giant has suspended its "That's what I like" campaign, which debuted in the US in January, to reallocate marketing resources to support the broadcast. Pepsi is dedicating its marketing teams, agency partnerships and existing paid media to the project and will create the official logo, marketing plan and US TV ad spots that will appear in the two weeks leading up to the event.
Over the past three weeks, the Global Citizen campaign "Together at home" has seen performances on artists' Instagram pages aimed at raising funds for the WHO Covid-19 response fund. This idea has now been extended into a multi-hour one-night production involving multiple artists.
Stay in with us April 18th to join the fight against COVID19. We’re partnering with @GlblCtzn to bring together some of the world’s biggest stars to celebrate the heroic efforts of health care workers. One World #TogetherAtHome https://t.co/W9PokwvKkE pic.twitter.com/lw34HUjPBb— Pepsi (@pepsi) April 6, 2020
Todd Kaplan, vice-president of marketing at PepsiCo, said: "While social gatherings look a bit different these days, we are excited to do our part to help bring people around the world together – while staying at home – to reconnect around a shared love of music and a strong desire to take action in the fight against Covid-19."
This follows the announcement that Pepsi has committed more than $45m to a global initiative to support communities impacted by the outbreak. The funding will go towards personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, testing and screening services, and distributing nutritious meals.
The "One World: Together at Home" event will air worldwide April 18th at 8pm EST (1am 19 April BST), and will be available live on Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Twitch, YouTube and a number of TV networks, including BBC One who will run the programme on 19 April.
