PepsiCo’s play for Gen Z: Social-first, creator-led and culturally fluent

From an alien mascot with a chip obsession to behind-the-scenes stories from Australian farms, Smith’s Chips has gone full throttle into TikTok - backed by a creative strategy rooted in nostalgia, authenticity and cultural fluency.

But the goal wasn’t just to go viral. For PepsiCo, it was a calculated shift in how legacy brands show up for a new generation.

“As a legacy brand, we know Gen Z doesn’t have the same built-in nostalgia for Smith’s and the Gobbledok,” Tania Ye, brand manager at Smith’s, told Marketing-Interactive.

“So with Paddock to Packet, we set out to reintroduce ourselves - not by telling them who we are, but by showing up where they are, in a way that feels honest, not try-hard. We went social-first because that’s where attention lives.”

The campaign, starring internet personality Luisa Dal Din, is a creator-led, platform-native docu-series shot on a real Smith’s potato farm. Guided by none other than the Gobbledok, Luisa swaps city life for soil, unearths the magic behind Smith’s three-ingredient chips - and maybe the meaning of life too.

“Luisa was the perfect partner,” Ye said. “The unexpected setting, paired with humour and authenticity, helped it cut through in a way that felt natural. We told a real story - that these chips come from actual Aussie farms - through a voice our audience already connects with.”

The campaign taps into TikTok’s rising #FarmTok subculture, a wildly popular corner of the platform celebrating rural life, hard work, and honesty. It’s social storytelling that earns Gen Z’s attention while spotlighting regional pride and Aussie humour.

Behind the scenes is VaynerMedia Australia, where executive creative director Denny Handlin is helping PepsiCo rethink how iconic brands like Smith’s and Mountain Dew show up in the social era. A former creative leader at both TikTok and Meta, Handlin says the shift is not just about playing on new platforms - it’s about rethinking how brands earn attention and build equity at speed.

“Social is now the frontline for brand-building,” Handlin said. “It’s not about the 30-second ad anymore - it’s about 30 pieces of culturally relevant content that earn their place in the feed.”

While No Smith’s, No Game and Paddock to Packet live in very different worlds - one on the field, the other in the paddock - Ye said both celebrate how Smith’s fits into Aussie life. "They tap into what makes the brand iconic: it’s proudly local, down-to-earth, and never takes itself too seriously. The tone may shift, but the essence stays the same.”

A celebrity comeback

But it's not just authenticity driving engagement - it’s absurdity too. The Gobbledok, a cult mascot from the 1980s, was resurrected for social, not as a nostalgic throwback but as a self-aware “celebrity comeback.”

“He’s an alien obsessed with chips - of course it’s absurd,” Handlin said. “We leaned into that unhinged energy. The content wasn’t just nostalgic, it was entertaining and self-aware in a way that felt fresh.”

The light-touch irreverence helped drive major engagement, with some episodes clocking millions of views. But the Gobbledok wasn’t just a gimmick - it was a case study in emotional resonance.

“Nostalgia is one of the most powerful emotional shortcuts in marketing,” Handlin said. “It’s a goldmine - if you don’t make it cringe.”

It’s a tactic more global brands are starting to embrace. Handlin points to recent work in the US where heritage brands like Mountain Dew are reposting iconic ads on social to connect with younger audiences - effectively weaponising the archive in the age of algorithms.

Closer to home, Mountain Dew is also testing new formats and fan-first ideas with Vayner. The agency recently launched a series of creator-led content drops as part of its broader push into what Handlin calls “culture-driving, platform-native work.”

The strategy reflects a growing shift in marketing spend. Unilever recently announced it would allocate up to 50% of budgets to creators and social. In Australia, influencer marketing is now a $4 billion-plus category. But Handlin cautions that success requires more than just budget reallocation.

“You can’t throw product at a creator and hope for the best. It has to be a shared value system,” he said. “The best results come when creators bring the story to life in their own voice, with the brand supporting - not controlling - the narrative.”

That mindset aligns with how Smith’s sees its place in culture.

“Ultimately, we believe that what drives real choice at the shelf starts upstream: in culture, on social, and in how we consistently show up in people’s lives,” Ye said.

“It’s not about chasing every trend, but about showing up with intent and consistency, in ways that feel worth remembering or sharing. That’s how we build brand love - one scroll, one story, and one chip at a time.”

This trust-led model is also reshaping how brands think about campaign structure. Rather than matching luggage across channels, marketers are increasingly using social-first ideas to drive broader campaigns - including back onto mainstream TV.

Handlin references recent work by Telstra and others using TikTok-style content in traditional channels like out-of-home and broadcast. “We’re seeing the flip now - where social is the starting point, and then it’s amplified across other formats.”

It’s a cultural and operational shift - and one reason Handlin was drawn back into agency life after stints at Facebook and TikTok.

“At Vayner, we’re not just trendjacking,” he said. “We’re building brands on social. That means moving fast, staying relentlessly focused on relevance and creating content that actually earns attention.”

For marketers, the implications are clear: brands that play safe will struggle for attention. But for those willing to blend nostalgia with cultural nuance and platform expertise, the feed is now fertile ground for real brand-building.