PepsiCo has kicked off a football-themed brand campaign with limited-edition thermochromic cans that change colour at the ‘optimal’ drinking temperature and give fans the chance to win exclusive prizes.
While 86 million football-themed cans will hit the shelves, only 150,000 of them will be rare ‘Perfect Chilled’ variants. These 330ml cans are printed with advanced temperature-sensitive ink that begins to react at 12°C, then turns a vibrant blue colour at the ‘optimal’ drinking temperature of 8°C.
This is expected to ‘gamify’ the retail experience and offer fans the chance to win exclusive prizes, including £5,000 in cash towards a home entertainment bundle, football tickets, Pepsi Football Nation merchandise and Pepsi vouchers.
These cans come under the Pepsi Football Nation global platform, which aims to replicate the passion and debates held by football fans – including PepsiCo’s ‘rule’ that spectators ‘always have chilled Pepsi ready’ for a big game.
The campaign will also feature a web extension for Chrome and Firefox, which taps into disagreements over the sport’s name by replacing the word ‘soccer’ with ‘football’ on a webpage.
Cadbury revealed its own cold-activated wrappers last year. The limited-edition designs featured an image encouraging consumers to ‘Chill to Reveal’ a series of summer-themed designs, leaning into the debate over whether chocolate should be stored in the fridge during warmer months.
In other football-related news, Bitburger is celebrating Germany’s appearance at the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a series of collectable, limited-edition beer cans. Supported by independent brand design agency Derek&Eric, the cans are designed to reflect the passion, pride and nostalgia of German football fans.
Coca-Cola and Panini are also commemorating the competition’s return to North America with peel-back labels that reveal collectable stickers of various famous players, from Harry Kane and Weston McKennie to Gabriel Magalhães and Lautaro Martínez.
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