Poppi’s Celeb Pivot With Charli XCX Falls Flat

THE AD: A quiet college lecture hall transforms into a club when someone opens a can of Poppi. Charli XCX and actor Rachel Sennott, stars of the new movie The Moment, momentarily party alongside a wild group of students, props, and stunts. But the party is merely a daydream, and the ad snaps back to the student sitting at her desk with a Poppi. When the student next to her asks for a drink, Charli XCX appears one final time, reminding viewers to “Make it Poppi.”

MY TAKE: I was very interested in Poppi’s Super Bowl ad this year, its first under the ownership of longtime Super Bowl stalwart PepsiCo. Poppi’s advertising has for the most part featured creators and focused on explaining how its low-sugar drinks compare to traditional soda.

Boy, is this year’s Super Bowl ad different.

Ditching the creators, Poppi went full celebrity this year, leaning into a PepsiCo’s Super Bowl strategy staple. The ad aims to tap into Gen Z’s interest around The Moment, an A24 film starring pop star Charli XCX that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In the film, Charli plays a fictionalized version of herself preparing for the arena tour for her 2024 viral album, Brat. The ad also features The Moment star Sennott and director Aidan Zamiri, and has a similar overall aesthetic to the movie.

It also mimics a storyline from The Moment, which pokes fun at the commercialization around the Brat tour, resulting in Charli XCX signing an ultimately catastrophic deal with fictional bank Howard-Stirling to create a branded credit card. 

But instead of saving the bored college students by bringing the “vibes,” Poppi’s ad says nothing relevant about the product. The fast-paced montage of wild party scenes, meant to play off of Charli’s persona, are confusing and unclear. There’s a lot happening in 30 seconds, making it hard for viewers to follow. And neither Charli or Sennott add much to the narrative or explain anything about the product, making the brand’s connection to The Moment tenuous at best.

Plenty of brands like Hellmann’s and Field Roast jumped on the popularity of the Brat tour with much success. Compared to those efforts, Poppi’s ad falls flat.

Watch Poppi’s Super Bowl 60 ad, “Make it Poppi,” below.