Lipton Teams Up With Ice-T to Fix the Internet’s Peach Emoji Problem

The peach emoji is mostly used with a different meaning, and Lipton wants to take it back.

The iced tea brand has teamed up with Ice-T to take part in its new “Respect The Peach” campaign from creative agency adam&eve/TBWA.

The effort was built on the sharp cultural insight that 93% of people use the peach emoji to mean something other than the fruit.

This disconnect became the campaign’s entry point.

Instead of fighting it quietly, Lipton turned the misuse into the idea itself.

The rapper then steps in as the unlikely authority, calling on the internet to use the emoji properly.

"This campaign is about Lipton showing up where conversations are happening, with a welcome dose of irreverent humour — all while sipping on some delicious Ice Tea," Pepsi Lipton Global CMO April Adams-Redmond said in a statement.

It gives Lipton a clearer brand identity, using humor and cultural behavior to stay present in everyday conversations.

Ice-T Enters the Chat

The hero spot starts with Ice-T talking directly to the viewers from his desk. 

He explains that a lot of people have been asking, if you can't use the peach emoji for booty, what emoji are you supposed to use? 

He then reveals a brand-new butt emoji, made to describe, well, butts.

"A butt is a butt and a peach is a peach — Lipton Ice Tea,” he says in the video, closing the spot by asking viewers to #RespectthePeach. 

The rollout begins on TikTok and Instagram, where users often refer to building their "peach."

Ice-T drops into these conversations directly, correcting posts and imposing the emoji's original meaning in real time.

It’s a simple move, but one that makes the campaign feel native and not imposed. 

From here, Lipton grows the idea with a mix of social and experiential elements designed for participation.

A custom "buttmoji" is introduced as a replacement for the peach emoji, giving users an alternative.

Producers and DJs use Ice-T’s voice to remix it into TikTok-friendly tracks, pushing the campaign into music and nightlife spaces.

The brand also rolls out digital out-of-home placements in gyms, aligning the message with the environments where the misunderstanding is most visible.

The campaign launched first in the Netherlands and Belgium, with a broader European rollout planned across March and April.

Lipton’s Peach Emoji Rebrand

The campaign is on interaction, where every asset, from GIFs to stickers, is designed to be shared, reused, and remixed.

• Social norms like emoji use can become creative territory when brands respond quickly and build ideas around real user behavior.
• Social-first campaigns work better when brands actively participate in conversations instead of simply broadcasting messages.
• Simple, shareable tools like custom emojis or audio clips can make campaigns active outside paid media placements.

PepsiCo made approximately $94 billion in net revenue worldwide last year, with Lipton Ice Tea as part of its drinks portfolio. 

This scale gives campaigns like this the backing to show up across platforms and stay in circulation.

It also allows Lipton to push interactive assets further, reinforcing its social media marketing strategy across each touchpoint.

Our Take: Can a Joke Carry a Brand?

For this specific instance, we think it can. 

The campaign knows exactly what it is, because it's not trying to be profound.

It's honest in taking something as ridiculous as an emoji misunderstanding and building a full campaign around it.

Ice-T is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but it works because it feels like he's really in on it.

You can say it's just an emoji, but the way it's stretched across social, music, and physical spaces makes it bigger than it should be.

This same cross-platform push is showing up across PepsiCo’s portfolio, with Lay’s, Doritos, and Ruffles recently getting flavor swaps in a creator-led campaign.

Brands building interactive campaigns often work with partners who understand how to turn participation into sustained engagement.

Check out our top experiential marketing agencies that design campaigns to spark joy among audiences.