Rochester wins Pepsi Super Bowl sweepstakes

Get hyped for halftime and a turn in the national spotlight, Rochester.

PepsiCo, maker of the soft drink, crowned Rochester the "The Most Hyped Hometown in America" on Friday and winner of its national campaign connected to the halftime show of the National Football League's Super Bowl.

Now we get to reap the benefits: Pepsi is going to roll into town on Sunday, Jan. 18, with a pop-up concert featuring a special yet-to-be-named guest, and a lucky group of Rochesterians will win tickets to the Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX halftime show to see singer Katy Perry perform live.

"It's more than just the concert itself," said Angela Tucciarone, a spokeswoman for Pepsi. "We are taking over Rochester that Sunday with a bunch of surprises."

So why Rochester?

During the sweepstakes period — Nov. 26 to Dec. 27 — local participants submitted a photo or video, along with a brief description, showing excitement for the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show. Each entrant was allowed up to five submissions per day during the sweepstakes period.

The submissions were judged by an independent panel based on originality and creativity; embodiment of the "Hyped for Halftime" campaign; total hometown participation; and public voting. Rochester submitted 509 entries.

"Rochester beat out everyone else by a long shot just by the sheer number of submissions," said Tucciarone.

The photos showed groups of people out at parties, or in their pajamas, posing with Pepsi products. Some went as far as getting pets involved, painting their faces or dressing up as Katy Perry.

As part of last year's campaign to create a buzz for the halftime show, Pepsi hosted a surprise Lee Brice pop-up concert in the small village of Milligan, Nebraska. Village Clerk/Treasurer Crystal Vavra said the village was given 24 hours of advance notice to prepare for the massive party the following day.

Vavra said nearly 5,000 people flooded the 285-person village's two-block Main Street to participate in the festivities on a bitterly cold Friday in early January 2014.

"People came from all over — the surrounding towns, Kansas, Iowa," she said with a laugh. "It was quite the deal!"

Vavra did not get specific about how much the event cost the village, but she said Pepsi reimbursed the village of Milligan in full.

"It was a good experience, I'd say," said Vavra. "It put us on the map."

This year's Pepsi marketing campaign kicked off with a Blake Shelton "Operation Halftime" concert Nov. 3 on board an aircraft carrier in Corpus Christi, Texas. A commercial about that concert got national TV airtime around Thanksgiving and is available on YouTube.

This isn't Rochester's first brush with Pepsi-related exposure. In March 2013, Johnny Perotti of Rochester won the second-annual Pepsi MAX Field of Dreams sweepstakes and had the opportunity to play in an exhibition baseball game alongside Hall of Famers at Frontier Field.

Mayor Lovely Warren's office said late Thursday it was not prepared to comment about Rochester's most recent Pepsi recognition.

If there is one thing we can learn from Milligan's experience, it's that America is going to have its eyes on Rochester in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. It is time to bring our A-game.

NUPADHYE@Gannett.com

Twitter.com/Neeti_U