Pepsi attacks Coca-Cola for the Super Bowl with a hit ad

Each year, the Super Bowl is a special event.

Not just for the game.

But for the ads.

It's one of the rare times when brands agree to spend 8 to 10 million dollars for 30 seconds, with a simple objective:

make an impression.

And for Super Bowl 2026, Pepsi has clearly decided to attack Coca head-on.

A direct but cleverly executed attack

Pepsi doesn't just put out a “good ad.”

The brand chooses the symbolic terrain.

First of all, The polar bear.

The historic Coca-Cola mascot, associated for decades with Christmas, family warmth and emotion.

Pepsi takes it straight away.

And use it as a narrative tool.

Afterwards, The creative principle.

An assumed blind taste test, in line with the mythical Pepsi Challenge.

The message is crystal clear.

And above all, immediately understandable.

The perfect contrast to AI Coca ads

This attack makes even more sense when you put it in context.

In recent months, Coca-Cola has been heavily criticized for its Christmas ads made with AI.

Movies considered cold, artificial, sometimes emotionally clumsy.

Pepsi then plays a very fine double card:

— hijack a historical Coca-Cola symbol,

— and claim a movie without AI, in total contrast to these campaigns.

It is no coincidence.

It is a strategic response.

The false debate that is already happening

On LinkedIn and elsewhere, the debate is predictable.

We are going to read:

— “AI vs creativity”

— “look what we can do without AI”

— “proof that AI kills emotion”

— “impossible to replicate with AI”

Exactly like during the Intermarkt wolf ad.

But it's a False debate.

Why does this spot really work

This movie doesn't work because it's made without AI.

It works because:

— the attack is direct but funny,

— the idea is simple and well executed,

— cultural references are perfectly mastered,

— the message is clear in a few seconds.

Result:

More than 1 million views on YouTube in a very short time.

The public doesn't applaud technology.

He's reacting to an idea.

AI or not AI. The spectator doesn't care.

This is probably the most important point.

The spectator does not ask himself:

— if it's AI,

— from the CGI,

— 3D,

— or a real shoot.

He doesn't care at all.

What he remembers:

— did I understand?

— did that make me smile?

— did it stick with me?

When an ad works, technology disappears behind the idea.

Technology is never the subject

In good advertising, technology is a medium.

Never a goal.

AI can be a great tool:

— to produce more quickly,

— test further,

— explore creative paths.

But it will never save:

— a weak idea,

— a confusing message,

— a poorly exploited reference.

Pepsi understood that perfectly here.

Conclusion

With this 2026 Super Bowl commercial, Pepsi succeeds.

Not because the movie is made without AI.

But because he is:

— well thought out,

— well executed,

— culturally fair,

— and perfectly positioned against its competitor.

The real lesson is simple:

AI or not AI, that's never the question.

The only question that matters is:

is the idea good?

About HEYIA Studio

HEYIA Studio supports brands and agencies to integrate AI into their creation of visual and video content.

Our work is based on a simple triptych:

an audit of uses and challenges,

practical workshops oriented to production,

and follow-up to structure clear, concrete and replicable workflows.

Learn more about our approach.