International superstars Agüero, Rodríguez, Kompany, Sánchez and de Gea celebrate the world's favorite sport unleashing unexpected moments of fun

LONDON, Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- #MAXFOOTBALL – Continuing its longstanding history of fueling football passion around the world, Pepsi MAX® announced its 2016 global roster of all-star players today. The Pepsi MAX team, uniting thrilling international talent from top clubs, will spark excitement throughout the year with a new integrated global campaign, the Pepsi MAX Blue Card.

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The Pepsi MAX lineup of superstars includes Argentinian striker Sergio Agüero (Manchester City), Colombian phenom James Rodríguez (Real Madrid), Belgian team captain Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Chilean leading scorer Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) and Spanish goalkeeper great David de Gea (Manchester United).

The 2016 global Pepsi MAX football team will be featured in a variety of integrated campaign elements, anchored by a global television commercial released today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pahu-cBfioU&feature=youtu.be. Bringing to life the Pepsi MAX Blue Card, an unsuspecting pair of delivery drivers get the surprise of a lifetime as a pickup game with members of the Pepsi MAX team breaks out in the most unexpected fashion.

"The Pepsi MAX Blue Card was created to stop boredom in its tracks and unleash unexpected moments of fun," said Carla Hassan, SVP, Global Brand Management, PepsiCo Global Beverage Group. "While the traditional red or yellow card might stop play, the Pepsi MAX Blue Card signals that things are about to get exciting – which is a perfect kick start to the year for our iconic brand."

The 2016 program builds off an exciting win: PepsiCo's flagship brands Pepsi MAX, Lay's and Gatorade have joined forces with the prestigious European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, as an official sponsor.

With the final stages of this year's celebrated tournament underway, Pepsi MAX is launching the "Maximum Football" program across Western Europe. The effort includes a new Pepsi MAX augmented reality app giving fans the chance to win football prizes, including match tickets to the quarter-finals and semi-finals and a trip to the UEFA Champions League Final on 28^th May in Milan. Available to download beginning 1^st March on both iOS and Android, fans can use the app to scan football-themed PepsiMoji designs found on limited edition Pepsi MAX bottles and cans to dive into ingenious augmented reality content to find out if they could be a winner.

Player Statements:

Sergio Agüero (Manchester City): "I am excited to be partnering with Pepsi once again, and thrilled to have been selected as a member of the 2016 global team of footballers. I am looking forward to teaming up with Vincent, James, Alexis and David throughout the year to bring fun, unexpected opportunities to football fans around the world."

James Rodríguez (Real Madrid): "I'm proud to be a part of the Pepsi global roster of footballers in 2016. It was a great experience working with the brand last year, and I am looking forward to teaming up with this year's Pepsi team to bring unexpected, exciting opportunities to football fans around the world."

Vincent Kompany (Manchester City): "It's an honor to partner with Pepsi once again. This campaign is all about fun and a little bit of craziness that you can add to a moment. When you take out the Pepsi Blue Card everything changes – I think we all need that in our days."

Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal): "Pepsi is one of the most recognizable brands associated with our great sport and it's amazing to be a part of their global roster of footballers this year."

David de Gea (Manchester United): "I'm thrilled to join the Pepsi football team for the first time this year. I've always been excited to see what the brand brings to our sport and fans – on and off the pitch – and I can't wait to be a part of it."

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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SOURCE PepsiCo