Minnesota Vikings fans are getting the chance to see star wideout Justin Jefferson in a new light. He is one of the stars of Pepsi’s new “Make Your Game Day Epic” campaign.
Jefferson spoke with Heavy Sports in an exclusive interview ahead of the monumental launch.
The three-time Pro Bowler discussed the experience of filming the spot, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell as well as teammates Aaron Jones, J.J. McCarthy, Jordan Addison, and Sam Darnold.
“Sam is a great guy. Not just football-wise. But just talking to him off the field, just learning how he is, just as a guy himself. Not as a quarterback. Not as a guy that’s been on different teams and just dealing with what he had to deal with at the beginning of his career,” Jefferson told Heavy Sports.
“Just him coming into Minnesota, having a fresh new start, fresh new team, fresh new coaches, his ability to have some weapons that’s around him and just have the ability to get the ball in whatever space and allow us to make his job a little bit easier. So I’m excited for him. I feel like he has been making progress this whole entire training camp. He’s been learning the plays, learning the system, learning how his receivers move.”
Jefferson said he makes sure to communicate with Darnold after a play or series so they can build their chemistry.
Darnold was already in line to start entering the 2024-25 season.
O’Connell had left the door open for McCarthy to surprise him, though. That was until McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus in the Vikings’ preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. The injury required surgery and ended the rookie’s season.
“It’s a difficult process, just not being able to fulfill your dreams and plan on that NFL field for real and not just preseason. So just having to deal with injury is never something that you want to happen. But him being a rookie, him having an older guy that’s in front of him, he can just take this opportunity to really learn from Sam. Learn the system, learn the offense that we have, to connect with the different guys that’s in the building training staff-wise, coaches-wise player-wise,” Jefferson said.
“We’re going to need him future-wise. He’s the future of our organization. We’re definitely going to need him later on, especially whenever he’s healthy. So that’s definitely something we’re looking forward to. But as of now, just take this opportunity to learn and to grasp all that information that you can.”
Jefferson’s leadership is an extension of his head coach. O’Connell is highly regarded by players around the league according to a survey published by the NFLPA in February.
What makes the Vikings head coach special to Jefferson?
“I would say just his chemistry with his players, his ability to connect with his players, and just his scheme itself. The scheme and the playcalling that he has, it’s not normal. It’s not something that anyone can just pick up on and it’s just easy to learn. It’s something that you really got to buy into. Something that you have to sit there and really study. Really have to go over every single day,” Jefferson said.
“It’s a lot of things that really go towards it. I feel like he’s a player’s coach. He’s great with his players. Knowing how his players feel, how his players are mentally just him being a player uh early on in his career.”
O’Connell was a third-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2008 draft.
He spent five seasons in the NFL between the Patriots, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and the then-San Diego Chargers. O’Connell joined the NFL coaching ranks in 2015.
Next Steps for Justin Jefferson, Vikings: ‘Super Bowl’
Jefferson did not hesitate when asked what his next goal was. He is off to a historic start in his career and secured a big payday during the 2024 offseason.
“Super Bowl,” Jefferson told Heavy Sports. “That’s the main goal. And bringing winning habits to this organization. We definitely don’t like going home during the playoffs every single year, not being a part of a Super Bowl team, and to hold that ring on our fingers at the at the end of the day.
“It’s definitely something that doesn’t come lightly, doesn’t come with just being given to you. It’s something that we got to work hard for and everyone have to want it. It just can’t be one person or offense. It just got to be the whole team. But seeing the new people that’s in the building, seeing the different add-ons that we added on to the team, I’m excited. I’m excited for Week 1 and to showcase to the rest of the world what we have on the squad.”
To that point, Jefferson was asked about Addison. The second-year wideout has dealt with multiple legal issues since the Vikings selected him with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He was arrested for suspicion of DUI outside of LAX in July.
Jefferson says the veterans are rallying around the youngster.
“He’s still young. He’s still a guy that’s learning. And he’s new to being in this league and to have his name everywhere whenever he does something. So just being the older guy, the captain of the team, the leader, [I’m] just taking him under my wing. Just making sure that he’s in the right head space. Making sure he has people that’s around him that’s protecting him for the good for himself and not just latching on to him for who he is and what he carry in his wallet,” Jefferson said.
“That’s just something that he has to learn, something that we have to teach him as older guys on the team. But we have all the confidence in the world that he’s going to pick up the slack where he’s already been slacking at. And making sure that his head is on his shoulders in the right spot and he’s able to be out there playing with us whenever we need him.”
The Vikings also needed to revive their run game. They ranked 29th in yards gained in 2023. The Vikings signed the former Green Bay Packers back, Jones, to help boost their numbers.
Like Jefferson, Jones also has a fondness for Oakley sunglasses.
“For sure, he definitely got a deep sunglass collection,” Jefferson said with a laugh. “He definitely holds about two, three sunglasses with him everywhere he go, so he definitely got a deep collection. I’m trying to get just like him on having a collection like he do.
“Just being a fan of him on the opposite side of the field with him in Green Bay, to now see him on our side in a purple and gold and just excited to see the amount of work that he’s going to provide for us. It’s going to be tremendous. I’m excited for him. He’s a great back and he’s going to do tremendous things for us.”
Justin Jefferson Helping Pepsi ‘Make Your Game Day Epic’
Jefferson, the Vikings’ first-round pick in the 2020 draft, has built a portfolio of endorsements, including Campell’s Soup, Little Ceasars, and Under Armor.
But this national rollout with Pepsi, a longstanding NFL sponsor, is a different beast.
“Just to hear their plans and to really be a part of the plan is something that I was stoked about. To be a gladiator, and to be with some of the other guys that’s in the league, and to even be with a celebrity artist is something that doesn’t come around often,” Jefferson told Heavy Sports.
“Pepsi itself is a big brand; something that’s always been around and a part of my uh day-to-day life with some of the people in my family that love Pepsi and love to drink it all the time. So to be a part of their campaign – that ‘Make Your Game Day Epic’ campaign – and to see the different stuff that they had going on with the commercial and shooting all of that different stuff was amazing. It was a fantastic time.”
Reprising the gladiator theme from previous iterations of the spot, Jefferson joins fellow stars Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. They must entertain “Empress” Megan Thee Stallion and win a sip of Pepsi.
The hip-hop artist’s remix of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, which is available on all streaming platforms, scores the spot. It adds to the energy for the ad’s message: “Let Gameday Begin.”
Fans can watch the entire ad here. The star-studded affair was a new experience for Jefferson.
“It was a little different to see all of us kind of in that role of trying to be actors, trying to be just in a different comfort zone than what we’re normally in; in a helmet and shoulder pads playing on game day,” Jefferson said. “So to see all of us, to be interacting with everyone, and to really have good communication with everyone as well, it was definitely something that was shocking.
“To see the whole layout of the whole commercial, how they shot the commercial, what bits that we added in. And it was just all a movie-type vibe that I was dreaming that I was going to get eventually in my career.”
Jefferson said it was wholly different from the typical media availability with the Vikings. He met with different brand representatives.
He appreciated every bit of it, though, expressing faith in his acting chops as well.
“I feel like it was a totally new experience. Just to be around so many different people that’s working on the commercial, working on the project. People that’s a part of the actual brand that we’re meeting and introducing ourselves to,” Jefferson said.
“It was definitely different to see how everything plays out and see how things are being shot and how they actually look when the final cut is all done. It’s definitely different. It’s something that I wasn’t used to. But it was great to work with everyone. And I feel like I did a good enough job to be in the commercial.”
