Last summer, the mobile tour vehicle of choice was the school bus. This year, PepsiCo is making the case for the armored truck with its Bottle Lotto activation, hitting MLB stadiums, concerts, casinos and tourist attractions from Las Vegas to Orlando. Two armored trucks—one branded as Pepsi and the other as Mountain Dew in the products’ signature colors—are on the road through July, inviting consumers to grab a bottle of soda and try their luck at winning prizes from digital lottery scratch-off cards displayed on large tablets embedded on the trucks’ exteriors.
It all ties into PepsiCo’s larger Bottle Lotto campaign, which is “delivering winners every 60 seconds.” Consumers who purchase specially branded 20-oz bottles from convenience stores, gas stations and bodegas can enter their under-the-cap code on bottlelotto.com for a chance at cash, free products and entries into a weekly $20,000 jackpot.
The Bottle Lotto tour is bringing the digital lottery to life, and attendees can commemorate their participation by taking a seat in the activation’s swanky photo op moment: a shiny gold throne, surrounded by stacks of (fake) money, safes, a silver briefcase and a sweepstakes backdrop.
“Last summer, we started thinking about what the summer of 2025 was going to look like. We knew inflation is high, and there’s a lot going on in the world, in this country, and come summer, everyone would be looking for a little break from all the noise and looking to have a little fun,” says Greg Herman, senior marketing director-PBNA Portfolio Marketing at PepsiCo. “That works great with our brands because Pepsi is all about unapologetic fun, and Mountain Dew is about getting outside and doing. So, as millions of people are hitting the road across America for vacations and weekend getaways, let’s pack a little something extra into our bottles and give consumers a chance to put extra cash in their pockets.”
The idea for the activations’ armored truck fleet and the campaign’s tagline—“We keep delivering, you keep winning”—was inspired by the front-line PepsiCo employees who deliver the brand’s products every day, Herman says. Longtime PepsiCo driver Dwight Beard Jr. of Tulsa, OK, was chosen from a nationwide casting call to be featured in the campaign’s TV spot, driving the Pepsi armored vehicle, alongside the brand’s Mountain Dude character.
“Consumers will first be wowed by these vehicles as they walk up and see them because it’s not every day you see armored trucks,” says Melissa Gouda, marketing manager-PBNA Portfolio Marketing at PepsiCo. “When we saw these armored trucks, there was a conversation of: Should we theme them to Bottle Lotto, or should we make them our actual brands? For us, it was really important to focus on and hero Pepsi, Dew and our brands, especially since they’re recognizable. To be able to see these trucks on the road really feels like a big statement. They have a behemoth presence.”
The Bottle Lotto activations are also being complemented by national and local media with digital, TV, audio, social media, influencer and retail components.
Bottle Lotto isn’t PepsiCo’s only active experiential tour. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, The Pepsi Challenge is traveling to more than 17 U.S. cities, giving consumers a chance to try Pepsi Zero Sugar for themselves. We encountered the taste-test tour’s 2025 kickoff in New Orleans during Super Bowl LIX. Plus, Starry’s Lem vs. Lime: The Battle for Refreshment tour is treating consumers to an immersive sampling experience, asking them to choose which makes Starry more refreshing: Lem or Lime. LED walls, mirrored ceilings and surfaces, and AR elements are transporting attendees into Starry’s world.
“Pepsi’s out with the taste challenge activation, and we’re out with our trucks; we just want to get our product in front of consumers and get them trying it,” Herman says. “What we’re trying to do with Bottle Lotto is remind consumers that we’re not just Pepsi. We have a great variety and portfolio of beverages for people to try this summer and keep them coming back.” (Agency: Motive)
Photos: Courtesy of Motive/PepsiCo
Related:
- Super Bowl LIX: PepsiCo Leans into NOLA Cuisine and Culture at the Chips & Sips Quarter
- Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan: ‘We Don’t Chase Trends. We Chase Consumers.’
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