Pepsi Commercial Actors (Full Breakdown 2026)

Pepsi Commercial Actors (Full Breakdown 2026)

A complete guide to the celebrities, performers, musicians, athletes, and commercial actors featured in Pepsi ads

(By Carmichael Phillip)

Summary

Pepsi commercials have long been famous for celebrity casting, music, humor, sports culture, and high-energy performances. In recent years, Pepsi has continued that tradition by featuring stars such as Taika Waititi, Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, Derrick Henry, Khaby Lame, Zach King, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Martin, and Ben Stiller. These performers help Pepsi connect with audiences through comedy, music, sports, and pop culture.

Pepsi commercials are some of the most recognizable ads in American pop culture. The brand has always understood that soda advertising is not only about taste. It is also about energy, style, music, humor, youth culture, sports, and celebrity presence.

Unlike many product commercials that simply show the item being used, Pepsi ads often feel like mini entertainment events. A Pepsi campaign may include a famous actor, a pop star, an athlete, a comedian, or a social media personality. That strategy helps the brand stay connected to what people are already watching, sharing, and talking about.

Pepsi ads often rely on:

Celebrity cameos
Famous musicians
NFL players
Comedic actors
Super Bowl moments
Pop culture references
Music-driven storytelling
Energetic product shots

That is why Pepsi commercials continue to attract attention. The brand knows how to turn a simple drink into a cultural moment.

Taika Waititi is one of the biggest recent names connected to Pepsi advertising. In Pepsi’s 2026 Super Bowl commercial, titled “The Choice,” Waititi directed the spot and also appeared in it as a therapist. The commercial centered on a Coca-Cola-style polar bear taking the Pepsi Challenge and discovering that it preferred Pepsi Zero Sugar.

Waititi’s appearance works because he brings a specific kind of humor: dry, strange, emotional, and slightly absurd. By placing him in the role of a therapist, Pepsi turned a soda taste test into a playful identity crisis.

His performance is funny because it is understated. He does not overplay the joke. Instead, he treats the polar bear’s dilemma as if it were a serious therapy session. That contrast makes the commercial memorable.

Waititi’s presence also gives the ad a cinematic quality. He is not just a performer in the spot; he is also the creative force behind it. That makes him one of the most important recent Pepsi commercial actors and directors.

Megan Thee Stallion appeared in Pepsi’s “Make Your Gameday Epic” campaign, a major NFL-themed ad tied to the 2024 football season. The campaign used a gladiator-inspired concept and featured Megan performing a new version of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”

Her role in the commercial is important because she brings music, confidence, and cultural relevance. Pepsi has always had a strong connection to music, and Megan fits that tradition perfectly.

In the ad, she is not simply appearing as a celebrity. She drives the sound and attitude of the campaign. Her performance gives the commercial energy and makes the football theme feel larger than life.

Megan Thee Stallion’s Pepsi appearance shows how the brand continues to use musicians to define its identity. Pepsi wants to feel bold, current, and connected to entertainment. Megan helps communicate all three.

Travis Kelce appeared in Pepsi’s NFL-themed “Make Your Gameday Epic” campaign. As one of football’s most recognizable stars, Kelce brings immediate sports credibility and pop-culture visibility to the ad.

In a Pepsi commercial, an athlete like Kelce is valuable because he represents more than football. He represents big-game energy, confidence, personality, and entertainment. Pepsi often positions itself around moments when people gather to watch sports, eat, drink, and celebrate. Kelce fits that setting naturally.

His performance style in the campaign is physical and energetic. He does not need a long monologue. His presence, movement, and recognizable image help carry the message.

Kelce’s role also helps Pepsi reach NFL fans who associate the brand with tailgates, watch parties, and game-day traditions.

Josh Allen is another recent Pepsi commercial personality, appearing in NFL-related Pepsi advertising. In 2025, Pepsi’s “Tailgate Crashers” ad featured Allen alongside Justin Jefferson, using football-star energy to connect the brand with Sunday tailgating and game-day food.

Allen’s appeal in a Pepsi commercial comes from his status as a top NFL quarterback. He brings confidence, leadership, and familiarity to football audiences.

In Pepsi ads, athletes like Allen are not usually asked to play complicated characters. Instead, they often play heightened versions of themselves. That approach works because fans already know who they are.

Allen’s presence helps Pepsi feel connected to real football culture. For a brand that frequently markets around game-day moments, that kind of casting makes sense.

Justin Jefferson appeared with Josh Allen in Pepsi’s “Tailgate Crashers” campaign. As one of the NFL’s most exciting wide receivers, Jefferson brings speed, style, and youth appeal to the commercial.

Jefferson’s role helps Pepsi connect with younger football fans. His personal brand is energetic and expressive, which fits Pepsi’s image as a fun, bold, game-day drink.

In commercial acting terms, Jefferson’s performance is about presence. Viewers do not need a long explanation. Seeing him in the ad immediately signals football, excitement, and Sunday energy.

That is why athletes are so useful in Pepsi commercials. They bring a complete identity with them.

Derrick Henry was part of Pepsi’s “Make Your Gameday Epic” campaign alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, and Justin Jefferson. The campaign used a gladiator-style football concept, which fit Henry’s powerful athletic image extremely well.

Henry’s presence communicates strength. In a commercial built around battle, football, and epic competition, he naturally fits the tone.

Unlike comedic actors, Henry’s role is based more on physicality and image. He does not need exaggerated acting. His size, movement, and football identity help sell the concept.

Pepsi’s use of Henry shows how the brand chooses athletes whose real-life personas match the commercial idea.

Khaby Lame became part of Pepsi’s Super Bowl-related marketing around Pepsi Wild Cherry. Pepsi announced that the popular TikTok creator would be part of its Las Vegas Super Bowl activation, giving fans social media access to Pepsi events and experiences.

Khaby is known for silent comedy and expressive reactions. That makes him especially valuable in advertising because his humor is visual and instantly understandable across languages.

For Pepsi, Khaby brings social media power. His presence helps the brand reach younger audiences who consume commercials not only on TV, but on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other digital platforms.

His style fits Pepsi’s playful tone. He can communicate a joke with a look, a gesture, or a simple reaction.

Zach King was also part of Pepsi Wild Cherry’s Super Bowl-related campaign activity. Known for his visual tricks and digital magic videos, King helped Pepsi bring a creative social-media angle to the brand’s “Get Wild” campaign.

King’s value as a Pepsi performer comes from his ability to make short-form video feel surprising. His style is built for digital advertising because it catches attention quickly.

In Pepsi’s world, that matters. The brand is not only competing with other soda companies. It is competing with every video, post, meme, and ad people scroll past.

Zach King helps Pepsi feel inventive and shareable. His presence shows how modern commercial “actors” can include creators, influencers, and digital performers.

Shaquille O’Neal has been part of Pepsi’s larger Super Bowl and brand-event ecosystem, including Pepsi-related fan experiences and promotional appearances. Pepsi’s 2024 Super Bowl week activation placed Khaby Lame around “Pepsi stars” such as Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq is a natural fit for Pepsi because he combines sports credibility, humor, and broad audience recognition. He is not only a former basketball star; he is also a long-running commercial personality.

In ads and brand campaigns, Shaq works because he is instantly recognizable and naturally funny. His size, voice, and playful energy make him memorable in almost any commercial setting.

For Pepsi, Shaq helps connect sports, entertainment, and fun—three pillars the brand often uses.

Steve Martin appeared in Pepsi Zero Sugar’s 2023 Super Bowl campaign, where the commercial played with the idea of whether a reaction to Pepsi was “real” or just great acting.

Martin’s role was perfect because the joke depended on acting itself. He is a legendary comedian and actor, so the commercial could use his career reputation as part of the concept.

His performance leaned into theatrical exaggeration. The ad asked viewers to question whether his reaction to Pepsi Zero Sugar was genuine or simply another performance.

That made Martin more than just a celebrity cameo. He became the center of the commercial’s idea.

Ben Stiller also appeared in Pepsi Zero Sugar’s 2023 Super Bowl campaign alongside Steve Martin. His commercial similarly explored the difference between acting and real reaction.

Stiller’s performance worked because he is known for playing exaggerated characters, from Derek Zoolander to many other comedic roles. Pepsi used that background to make the audience wonder whether his enjoyment of the drink was real or performed.

The campaign was clever because it turned celebrity acting into the entire joke. Instead of hiding the performance, Pepsi made performance the point.

For an acting-focused publication, Stiller’s Pepsi ad is especially relevant. It is a soda commercial about acting, reaction, and authenticity.

Cindy Crawford remains one of the most famous Pepsi commercial figures of all time. Her 1990s Pepsi commercial became iconic because of its fashion, simplicity, and instantly memorable imagery.

Although Crawford’s Pepsi ad is not recent, it remains important to any Pepsi commercial actor breakdown because it helped define what a celebrity soda ad could be.

The commercial worked because Crawford brought glamour and confidence without needing much dialogue. The performance was visual, stylish, and direct. It showed how a commercial could become part of pop culture with the right casting and image.

Many later Pepsi ads followed that same idea: use a recognizable performer to make the product feel exciting.

Britney Spears is another major name in Pepsi advertising history. Her Pepsi campaigns blended music, dance, celebrity, and pop-star energy.

Spears represented exactly what Pepsi often wants to communicate: youth, energy, performance, style, and mass appeal. Her commercials felt like music videos, using choreography and star power to connect the drink with entertainment.

Her Pepsi work remains important because it shows how strongly the brand has relied on musicians. Pepsi does not just use celebrities for recognition. It uses performers who can create a full sensory experience: music, movement, fashion, and attitude.

Beyoncé has also been one of Pepsi’s most famous celebrity partners. Her Pepsi campaigns highlighted performance, confidence, music, and visual power.

Beyoncé’s connection to Pepsi fits the brand’s long relationship with music culture. Like Michael Jackson and Britney Spears before her, she helped turn Pepsi advertising into entertainment.

Her commercial presence communicates control, polish, and star power. In a Pepsi ad, Beyoncé does not need to explain the product. Her performance makes the brand feel connected to excellence, rhythm, and confidence.

That is the power of casting a performer with a strong personal brand.

Michael Jackson’s Pepsi commercials are among the most important in advertising history. His partnership with the brand helped connect Pepsi with global pop music, youth culture, and major entertainment campaigns.

Jackson’s ads were built around performance. Dance, music, energy, and celebrity identity were central to the message.

His Pepsi work helped establish the template that many later celebrity soda ads followed: pair a major music star with a bold visual concept and make the commercial feel like an event.

For Pepsi, Michael Jackson was not simply an actor in a commercial. He was a cultural force who helped define the brand’s entertainment identity.

Hallie Eisenberg became widely recognized as “the Pepsi girl” in a series of Pepsi commercials from the late 1990s. Her ads were memorable because they used a child performer with strong comedic timing, confidence, and charm.

Eisenberg’s Pepsi commercials showed that a brand spokesperson does not always have to be an adult celebrity. A young actor with the right presence can become just as memorable.

Her performances worked because she was expressive, funny, and instantly recognizable. She helped make Pepsi feel playful and family-friendly while still keeping the brand’s pop-culture edge.

Kendall Jenner appeared in Pepsi’s 2017 “Live for Now” commercial. The ad became controversial and was quickly pulled after widespread criticism.

Even though the campaign was not successful, it remains part of Pepsi advertising history. It shows how important tone and cultural awareness are in commercial casting and storytelling.

Jenner’s appearance demonstrated Pepsi’s continued interest in using celebrities and models to connect with younger audiences. However, the backlash also showed that celebrity power alone is not enough. The message, context, and execution must all work together.

For actors and brands, the lesson is clear: commercials are performances, but they are also public statements.

Pepsi commercials require a performance style that is energetic, memorable, and instantly readable. The actors and celebrities do not have much time to create an impression, so everything must happen quickly.

Strong Pepsi commercial performances often include:

Big personality
Clear facial reactions
Strong physical presence
Natural product interaction
Humor or musical energy
Confident camera awareness
A sense of fun

The best Pepsi performers do not make the drink feel like a random prop. They make it feel connected to a larger moment: a game, a party, a performance, a joke, or a cultural event.

That is why Pepsi commercials often use actors, musicians, athletes, and creators with strong identities. The brand borrows their energy and attaches it to the product.

Who is in the 2026 Pepsi commercial?
Pepsi’s 2026 Super Bowl commercial “The Choice” featured Taika Waititi, who directed the spot and appeared as a therapist.

Who are the recent Pepsi commercial actors?
Recent Pepsi campaigns have featured Taika Waititi, Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, Derrick Henry, Khaby Lame, Zach King, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Martin, and Ben Stiller.

Who was in the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl commercial?
Pepsi Zero Sugar’s 2023 Super Bowl campaign featured Steve Martin and Ben Stiller.

Who are the NFL players in Pepsi commercials?
Recent Pepsi NFL campaigns have included Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, and Derrick Henry.

Why does Pepsi use celebrities in commercials?
Pepsi uses celebrities because they bring instant recognition, entertainment value, and cultural relevance to the brand.

Pepsi commercials remain powerful because the brand understands performance. Whether the ad features Taika Waititi as a therapist, Megan Thee Stallion transforming a football campaign into a musical spectacle, NFL stars bringing game-day energy, or comedians like Steve Martin and Ben Stiller playing with the idea of acting itself, Pepsi knows how to make commercials feel entertaining.

The actors and celebrities are not just there to hold a can. They help create the feeling around the brand: fun, confidence, music, sports, humor, and pop culture.

That is why Pepsi commercial actors continue to matter. They turn a soda ad into a moment people remember.

Carmichael Phillip is a managing editor of Acting Magazine. In addition to editing, Mr. Phillip is a writer, coordinator and creative director.

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