Pepsi and the
National Football League (
NFL) announced the expansion of the
Pepsi NFL Anthems program, a national campaign that brings to life originally created anthems for seven
NFL teams around the league. The latest world-renowned artists to be featured in the program include one of the generation's most influential artists,
Lenny Kravitz, who penned
"Like a Jet" for the team he grew up cheering for in New York, and America's Greatest Rock Band
AEROSMITH, staunch supporters of the
New England Patriots, who have released an anthem titled
"Legendary Child - Patriots Anthem".
The new tracks are currently available for free download at
PepsiAnthems.com, and join originally created anthems by
Kid Rock (
Detroit Lions),
Kelly Clarkson (
Dallas Cowboys),
Ice Cube (
Oakland Raiders),
Travie McCoy (
New York Giants), as well as a
Wiz Khalifa remix of
"Black and Yellow" (
Pittsburgh Steelers).
"This is a program the band and I were excited to get behind as it is a true representation of our allegiance to the
New England Patriots and the city of Boston," said
AEROSMITH frontman
Steven Tyler. "There's something about the word legendary and the words
New England Patriots that have an amazing ring to them. We're excited and proud to be part of that," added
AEROSMITH guitarist
Joe Perry.
To further bring the
Pepsi NFL Anthems program to life,
Pepsi has created seven :30 spots that celebrate each of the original anthems, the fans' passion for their teams and a variety of authentic in-game footage. The advertising campaign will kick off on Sunday, October 21 when the
New York Jets take on the
New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. TV spots featuring the
AEROSMITH's
"Legendary Child – Patriots Anthem" and
Lenny Kravitz's
"Like A Jet", whose respective anthems-inspired teams will face off against one another, will air during the game broadcast.
In addition to New York and Boston, ads featuring the other anthems will roll out in additional markets and air throughout the remainder of the
NFL regular season.
"In an ongoing effort to amplify the intersection between sports and music, we are thrilled to add
AEROSMITH and
Lenny Kravitz as the newest Anthems artists," said
Pepsi Director of Sports Marketing
Todd Kaplan. "On top of that, the
Jets and
Patriots have a notorious rivalry, and we couldn't have picked a better matchup to debut our new songs and advertising campaign."
The
Pepsi NFL Anthems program will continue to come to life across a breadth of channels, including broadcast, digital, retail and in-stadium activations.
Jets quarterback
Mark Sanchez and
Patriots linebacker
Jerod Mayo will join
Matthew Stafford,
DeMarco Murray,
Darren McFadden,
Victor Cruz and
LaMarr Woodley as recognizable extensions to the campaign for their respective
NFL franchises.
The
Pepsi NFL Anthems program is an extension of
Pepsi's "Live For Now" campaign, which looks to capture the excitement of the moment and deliver experiences and content that is current in pop culture.
PepsiCo's relationship with the
NFL is among the company's longest running and most successful sports sponsorships.
PepsiCo recently signed on as the sponsor of the Super Bowl Halftime Show and will leverage its relationship with the
NFL to connect with consumers throughout the season.
