The most effective Jurassic World ad was sitting in your fridge

As Jurassic World: Rebirth charged into theaters this summer, Universal didn’t just rely on trailers, billboards, or social ads. Instead, they partnered with Dr Pepper to launch a multi-month promotional blitz across grocery stores, convenience chains, and digital channels. The centerpiece? A series of 11 limited-edition soda cans, each adorned with dinosaurs and embedded with QR codes that unlocked mobile mini-games, exclusive videos, and rewards via the Dr Pepper “Pepper Perks” platform.

Millions of cans, billions of impressions

According to industry shipment data, Dr Pepper moves roughly 1 billion cans annually. If even one quarter of their distribution during the Jurassic campaign window (March–June 2025) featured branded assets, that translates to an estimated 250 million collectible cans in circulation.

That makes this one of the largest physical consumer goods partnership movie marketing campaigns in recent memory, especially when compared to more niche theatrical activations like in-store standees or theme park installations. Even a conservative estimate of 2 impressions per can (purchase + fridge, or fridge + social media post) would put total branded impressions over half a billion.

And it wasn’t just passive visibility. The QR codes on cans led to trackable user engagement through the Dr Pepper app, where fans could redeem perks, watch exclusive Jurassic content, or unlock AR effects tied to characters like Blue and the Giganotosaurus.

From fridge to fandom: how the campaign worked

Dr Pepper didn’t just offered eleven cans - each featured a different dinosaur or environment, turning a $1.50 beverage into a collectible.

This scarcity model mirrors tactics used in high-frequency FMCG campaigns, such as Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” initiative, which saw a 7% spike in consumption in markets like Australia when personalized names were added to packaging.

By tapping into a similar collector mentality, Dr Pepper encouraged repeat purchases and fridge visibility placing Jurassic’s IP in the homes, dorms, and offices of consumers for weeks at a time. Unlike digital ads that vanish in seconds, these cans stuck around and multiplied.

Beyond purchase behavior, the campaign leveraged mobile gamification. Scanning QR codes led users to trivia challenges, dinosaur-spotting AR features, and other lighthearted content. While Dr Pepper has not publicly released engagement metrics, similar soda integrations have seen significant lift. A 2006 campaign for Mentos involving user-generated Diet Coke explosions led to a 20% increase in sales and 1.5 billion video views. While not identical in format, the Jurassic campaign clearly followed the playbook: merge product with entertainment, then incentivize interaction.

What made it work

At a time when theatrical marketing often struggles to cut through, this campaign stood out for three key reasons:

1. First, it leveraged a mass-distribution partner. Most experiential movie marketing (like LA pop-ups or Times Square stunts) only reach a few thousand people. By contrast, Dr Pepper put Jurassic World in front of tens of millions at point-of-purchase, on store shelves nationwide.

2. Second, it created a gamified ecosystem. Rather than stop at collectible cans, the campaign extended online through Pepper Perks, converting one-time drinkers into engaged fans of both the beverage and the film. For a studio like Universal, which thrives on tentpole IP, that extended digital engagement is gold.

3. Third, the campaign had time on its side. Rolling out several months before the movie’s release, the cans built anticipation well in advance, unlike the often-crammed timelines of trailer drops or press tours. Each sip became a reminder that something big was coming to theaters.

Jurassic joins the pop-can pantheon

This wasn’t the first time soda cans carried a blockbuster. In the late ’90s, Pepsi’s Spice Girls campaign printed 30 million ring-pull cans with CDs, leading to 12,000 redemptions per day and a spike in market share. More recently, Coca-Cola’s name-on-can strategy in the 2010s drove a 4% lift in market share and became a viral phenomenon. These campaigns proved that physical packaging still holds storytelling power.

Jurassic World’s collaboration now sits comfortably among them. In an age where digital fatigue is setting in, a tangible, collectible, and interactive piece of marketing felt not just nostalgic but also fresh.

Movie marketing intel: This week in trends

MARKETING COLLECTABLES 🍿 The $80 Popcorn Bucket Era Has Arrived (Wall Street Journal)
Themed popcorn buckets for Jurassic World: Rebirth, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool & Wolverine are driving record-high concession revenue for chains like AMC and Regal. Some locations report 10–12% of opening weekend concession sales now come from premium bucket sales, which double as collectibles and TikTok fodder. Read an earlier analysis on the popcorn bucket business from Cinemarketing HERE.

MOBILE MARKETING 📲 Jurassic Goes Mobile, and the Strategy Works (Tech Digest)
Universal Products & Experiences crafted a mobile layer across its entire Rebirth campaign. The Dr . Pepper app integration was just the start - additional QR codes appeared on movie posters, ticket stubs, and social ads, all directing fans into Universal’s Jurassic mobile experience.