PepsiCo’s Build Real Connections Campaign Turns Offline Hours into Meals for the Less Fortunate

Pepsi had set a groundbreaking record for The Most Accumulated Mobile Phone Offline Hours In A Month in The Malaysia Book of Records, achieving an accumulated total of 93,732 offline hours between 7 April and 7 May 2023 through the ‘Build Real Connections’ campaign created by FCB SHOUT. 

The certificate of recognition was presented by an official adjudicator from The Malaysia Book of Records to PepsiCo Beverage Marketing Lead, Jennifer Lee, at the award ceremony held on 2 June to commemorate the success of the campaign.

“It is an honour for us at Pepsi to break a record in The Malaysia Book of Records. In an age of daily technology use, we’d like to encourage closeness and quality time together during the Raya season, while being free from digital distractions. We believe Malaysians created wonderful memories and were able to reconnect and develop precious bonds with their loved ones through this campaign,” said Jennifer Lee, PepsiCo Beverage marketing lead.

In conjunction with the recent Raya celebrations, the ‘Build Real Connections’ campaign was organised to encourage Malaysians to spend quality time and reconnect with their loved ones without getting distracted by their gadgets, simply by gamifying the action of putting their phones aside while also contributing to the community. The purposeful interactive campaign accomplished an impressive total accumulated offline hours that’s equivalent to about 10 years and 7 months, or 3,905 days and 12 hours. This significant milestone stands as a powerful testament to Malaysians’ dedication to go offline and focus on in-person moments together during the festive celebrations while contributing to the underserved communities. 

“We’re incredibly excited to have collaborated with Pepsi to pull off such historical recognition. But what's more important to us is how the nation came together through this rewarding initiative to make real impacts on the less fortunate individuals and communities, and at the same time, fostered meaningful connections with one another,” said Jonathan Chan, associate creative director of FCB SHOUT.

PepsiCo Malaysia and FCB SHOUT with the Kechara Soup Kitchen Society

For every hour offline, Pepsi collaborated with NGOs, Kechara Soup Kitchen Society and The Lost Food Project to provide meal care packs that can sustain families for up to six weeks each. The meal care packs were distributed to the underserved communities within Klang Valley on 31 May, following the overwhelming participation.

The Lost Food Project was another key partner in the campaign.

“By tapping into Pepsi’s drive to foster meaningful connections, we’re grateful to have created a disruptive yet well-thought-out campaign, with engagements that inspire Malaysians to enrich real and meaningful connections during family mealtimes while strengthening Pepsi’s brand appeal to Malaysians,” said Syahriza Badron, general manager of FCB SHOUT. "It's the first step of a growth journey that we intend to embark on with Pepsi beyond the festive season.”

Watch Pepsi's Raya film here, which emphasises the importance of prioritising real-life connections over virtual ones.