How Pepsi Turned Real-Time Knicks Fever Into a Masterclass for DOOH Advertising

The New York Knicks just pulled off the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, and while fans were screaming on the streets of Manhattan, Pepsi’s marketing team was already putting those exact faces onto digital billboards. The campaign, titled “WE OUTSIDE,” is a brilliant case study in agility for the Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) industry. Instead of traditional, pre-produced studio assets, Pepsi deployed local NYC photographers—including street culture documentarians @shottinyc and Jack Underwood—directly into the crowds outside Madison Square Garden (MSG) and local sports bars during Game 3 and the historic victory.

Unfiltered emotions of disbelief, shock, and pure adrenaline were captured in real time, rapidly formatted, and pushed live onto digital screens blanketing the city just hours later.

The Dynamic DOOH Workflow

What makes this campaign a significant win for the DOOH medium is the near-zero latency between asset capture and public broadcast.

Why This Matters for the Digital Signage Industry

For Dooh Digital readers, this campaign highlights a massive shift in how major brands view outdoor media budgets. Outdoor advertising is no longer a static, one-way broadcast tool; it has evolved into a hyper-local, reactive mirror of live culture.

• Ditching the Glossy Aesthetic: Pepsi deliberately chose raw, handheld photography over airboarded models. By highlighting real New Yorkers with a cold Pepsi in hand, the brand positioned itself as a fellow fan celebrating on the pavement, rather than a corporate spectator.

• Contextual Relevance is King: The campaign works because of its placement. A Knicks fan walking past a billboard outside MSG sees a photo of someone who was standing in that exact spot three hours prior. This creates an immediate psychological connection and driving unparalleled digital engagement.

• The Power of Real-Time Infrastructure: This execution proves that the programmatic DOOH pipeline is mature enough to handle high-turnover creative. Brands can now treat massive digital displays with the same immediacy as an Instagram story or a live tweet.

Pepsi’s deep-rooted history in New York—spanning from the iconic Long Island City sign to a decade-long partnership inside Madison Square Garden—gives them the cultural permission to pull this off. By taking the energy outside the stadium walls, they’ve set a new operational standard for real-time reactive marketing in the DOOH space.

They put me on a billboard. “WE OUTSIDE” Pepsi x Knicks ad in Times Square
byu/Ill_Acanthisitta_148 inNYKnicks