The footballer also praised his fellow NFL players in the ad and its director Jake Scott, noting “he was unbelievable at giving me the [directions]”
Travis Kelce is getting candid about his new Pepsi commercial!
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, detailed his appearance as a gladiator in the soda brand’s latest commercial for NFL game day on his New Heights podcast with brother Jason Kelce — including the one-of-a-kind armor he wore.
“That was awesome,” Travis said of getting to star in the ad. “… Like, when you get to put on a cool outfit like that — like Pepsi custom made our armor, our gladiator’s armor.”
“Was that [real]? Is it actually metal or is it like plastic?,” Jason, 36, then asked. “Don’t lie. Don’t lie to me.”
“It’s full [armor],” the Chiefs player joked. “I had to defend myself from a tiger. You think that s—‘s plastic? Plastic. You’re ridiculous, Jason.”
He added that he even got to “keep” the custom-made outfit, which he admits “is pretty sweet.” “That is pretty cool,” added Jason.
In the commercial, Travis plays a gladiator alongside fellow NFL players Josh Allen, Derrick Henry and Justin Jefferson — whom he showered with praise.
They all did f—–g unbelievable jobs,” he said. “And sure enough, the director, Jake Scott, is the son of Ridley Scott who directed the actual movie Gladiator, and I cannot wait to see that movie [Gladiator II]. It looks so good.”
“Jake did an unbelievable job,” he continued. “Jake just — he brawled us through everything and knocked everything out real fast, and it was just awesome. He knew exactly how he wanted to get everything shot.”
Travis noted that working with the director, 59, went smoothly as well, and he was able to follow Jake’s direction on where he wanted to take the scenes and what he wanted to show in the ad.
@pepsi Watch how Travis Kelce went from TE1 🏈 to Gladiator 🛡 to fight an EPIC battle! #GladiatorII @gladiatormovie ♬ original sound – Pepsi
Yeah, he was unbelievable at giving me the [directions], literally,” he explained. “So I’m coachable, man. You coach me up. I can do it.”
“Yeah … it was an awesome final product,” retired Philadelphia Eagles player Jason added. “You guys fended off the tigers. You danced. You sang. You came together as a group of friends.”
Travis added, “As gladiators do.”
Megan the Stallion also stars in the promo as Roman royalty, while Jake Lacy and recent Emmy winner Lamorne Morris appear as NFL fans who pop a can of Pepsi and get transported to a gladiator arena.
Travis previously raved about his role in the beverage brand’s “Make Your Gameday Epic” NFL campaign and getting to star among so many notable names.
“It’s an absolute honor to be a part of something like this,” Kelce said in the clip posted on Pepsi’s official TikTok page on Friday, Sept. 20. “I’m so grateful to Pepsi for asking me to be a part of it. Just getting the thumbs up that I could handle the load of being a gladiator, I guess.”
He added, “It’s such a cool experience, and I’m excited that I got the opportunity.”