Case Study: PepsiCo achieves a blockbuster holiday ad with Zappi Amplify TV

How PepsiCo’s Walkers team used the detailed diagnostics in Zappi Amplify TV to deliver a blockbuster ad

PepsiCo’s Walkers team needed to reinvent its big‑budget Christmas spot and make a high‑profile celebrity comeback feel fresh — but an early animatic carried big risks around watchability, brand linkage and whether the joke fit the holiday spirit. To de‑risk the idea and avoid a simple go/no‑go verdict, PepsiCo turned to Zappi and used Zappi Amplify TV to test the draft ad at an early stage.

Zappi Amplify TV delivered detailed diagnostics and a risk‑functionality that pinpointed weaknesses (limited watchability, poor branding and social risk), enabling the Walkers team to iterate quickly — for example softening the celebrity persona and ending with them sharing the crisps — without slowing creative momentum. Those adjustments, guided by Zappi’s metrics, translated into a blockbuster holiday ad for PepsiCo’s Walkers, with clear improvements across watchability, brand linkage and social suitability and stronger projected Creative Sales Impact and Creative Brand Impact.

PepsiCo

Fernando Kahane Walkers

Marketing Director