A Taste With The Royals: City Love Edition
The now-defunct Pepsi Dig In program was a moment for equity among restaurateurs. Pepsi attempted to level the playing field for Black entrepreneurs, providing them with programs and resources to help grow their businesses as small restaurant owners.
As one of my first projects, I pitched that we travel to some of our partners across the country and create a food travel show that highlights the local flavors and the people behind the plates, an ode to Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown’. This was also my first foray into script writing for branded long-form content.
The result was a series that explored each chef’s journey, their signature dish, and how they represented their hometown with cuisine. Each episode featured a different Black foodie influencer as the host helping tell the story from a unique perspective.
Creative Director: Eddie Barrous Copywriter: Alicia Araujo, Kai Fields
SacrAmento
We stopped by Q1227 with @bayareafoodz to meet the one and only Chef Q and find out why his namesake is the talk of Farm to Fork Capital of America.
Los Angeles
We brought @blackfoodie with us to Leimert Park in Los Angeles to connect with Chef Mell and his famous Taco Mell. This hole-in-the-wall is reimagining Latin food in a whole new way, making it a must-stop for anyone passing through LA.
Houston
We took off to the Lone Star state with @greedygirlsguide to visit Chef Sienna and take a bite out of her famous wings.
New York City
In this episode, we head to the Big Apple with @flavorbehavior to try out some big flavor. We visit Chef Brittany Williams to see how she’s flipping Caribbean flavors into a new taste all her own.
New Orleans
The last stop on our food tour was The Crescent City, New Orleans. We took @kortlynnjenae to the world-famous Vyonne’s to give her creole sensibilities a pressure test, and she passed with flying colors, baby!
Super Bowl LIX: NOLA Eats Deserve Pepsi
When the Super Bowl comes to one of America’s food capitals, you know Pepsi is going to show up. For NOLA Eats Deserve Pepsi, we were tasked with helping push the new “Food Deserves Pepsi” brand language by activating around the Holy Grail of Marketing events.
We were able to link Mr. “Fuck That’s Delicious” Himself, Action ‘Bam Bam Baklava’ Bronson, with a NOLA staple, Willie Mae’s, to create a once-in-a-lifetime chicken sando experience. Of course, we had to invite restaurateur and New Orleans icon Larry Morrow to help spread the word and show around town.
The social campaign around this activation amassed 500k organic views and had Bourbon Street buzzing.
Creative Director: Eddie Barrous Copywriter: Alicia Araujo, Kai Fields