Model Slash Actor Derek Zoolander Unveils His New Pepsi® Zero Sugar Commercial On Heels Of Acclaimed "Great Acting or Great Taste?" Campaign, Launched During the Super Bowl

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Mar 02, 2023, 09:00 ET

Zoolander Returns to Challenge Consumers to Decide if it's Great "Model Slash Acting," or if Pepsi Zero Sugar is Really Really Ridiculously Good Tasting

PURCHASE, N.Y., March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the celebrated debut of the Pepsi Zero Sugar "Great Acting or Great Taste?" campaign during Super Bowl LVII, Pepsi is pleased to announce the newest face of the campaign – three-time Male Model of the Year, Derek Zoolander, who made his feature film debut in the Paramount Pictures film, Zoolander. After a short cameo in the original campaign, which upended tired old cliches of celebrities hawking products for the Super Bowl – all while reigniting the cultural phenomenon of Zoolander – Derek returns to follow in the footsteps of Steve Martin and Ben Stiller, now taking center stage as a spokes-model slash actor on behalf of one of the world's biggest brands.

Model Slash Actor Derek Zoolander Unveils His New Pepsi® Zero Sugar Commercial On Heels Of Acclaimed “Great Acting or Great Taste?” Campaign, Launched During the Super Bowl

In his first headlining campaign in over twenty years, Derek gets real with fans backstage. After a career of countless major brand endorsements, Derek is now asking cola drinkers to taste Pepsi Zero Sugar and decide for themselves if the new and improved Pepsi Zero Sugar is actually really really ridiculously good tasting, or just a result of Derek's one-of-a-kind modeling slash acting.

With a national :30 second spot and :15 second cutdowns set to air in the coming months, Derek will be front and center in his biggest comeback yet, even recreating his iconic 2001 cola pour for the new campaign.

"We have an advantaged product with the new and improved taste of Pepsi Zero Sugar, so we couldn't be more excited that people everywhere are trying it for themselves in response to our recent 'Great Acting or Great Taste?' campaign we ran on the Super Bowl," said Todd Kaplan, Chief Marketing Officer – Pepsi. "Derek Zoolander has seen a cultural resurgence, with his newfound Tik Tok fame that has been amplified by his role in our Super Bowl campaign, so it is only fitting that we extend this campaign to give America's favorite 'model-slash-actor' his own commercial. With this next group of ads, Derek, along with Ben and Steve, continue to take this campaign to new heights, driving home the simple consumer truth that the best way to find out if you like a product is to try it yourself – which is what we hope people will do with Pepsi Zero Sugar."

"Who am I?" said Derek Zoolander, model slash actor.

The new spots are an extension of the celebrated Pepsi Zero Sugar "Great Acting or Great Taste?" commercials featuring legendary actors, Ben Stiller and Steve Martin, that challenged consumers to decide for themselves if their love for the new Pepsi Zero Sugar was just acting, or if Pepsi Zero Sugar really tastes that great. As one of the standout performers in the race for Super Bowl advertising supremacy, both spots landed on a number of "Best of" lists and Pepsi dominated Twitter engagement for the majority of Super Bowl Sunday. The campaign extension is a multi-month commitment, featuring multiple television spots, media buys and more, all in support of the new and improved Pepsi Zero Sugar, unveiled last month as brand Pepsi continues to go all in on Zero Sugar in 2023. New media includes the below, which Pepsi fans and Derek die-hards can watch by visiting the brand's YouTube channel:

Two new Zoolander spots, a :15 second and full :30 in which Derek puts his own twist on the pronunciation of Pepsi Zero Sugar
15 second cuts of the original "Great Acting or Great Taste" spots featuring Ben Stiller and Steve Martin
A new :30 second spot, "Hot Can," featuring Ben Stiller

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

SOURCE PepsiCo Beverages North America