Pepsi has turned to mobile to extend the reach of an ad campaign targeting Hispanics and Latin Americans.

Pepsi tapped digital communications agency AgencyNet for its "Kung Fu Fighting" widget, a mobile software application that is part of an international television ad campaign for the Pepsi brand and beverages that began airing last week in certain Latin American markets. AgencyNet was referred to Pepsi by Forum Nokia.

"This app was built in Flash Lite 2.0 for Nokia's S40 platform as part of Adobe's initiative to showcase the technology of Flash Lite, and we were introducted to Nokia through Adobe," said Marc Case, executive vice president of business affairs for AgencyNet, New York.

"Pepsi had an existing campaing called "Kung Fu Fighting, and they were looking to extend its reach to the mobile platform," he said.

"Mobile has become ubiquitous as far as accessing the Internet via mobile devices, and it's an area where brands need to be. We built an internal mobile strategy team, and we work in Nokia's S40 and S60 platforms, Windows Mobile, iPhone and we're starting to work in the BlackBerry platform."

Pepsi's TV commercial for "Kung Fu Fighting" features modern remakes of the 1974 funk classic "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas and Vivian Hawke.

The commercial centers on a light-hearted competition to win the last can of Pepsi.

In an attempt to secure the can, people break out in a freestyle dance-off to the sounds of "Kung Fu Fighting," as remastered by Grammy-award winning artists Shaggy and T-Pain, along with new female recording artist Tami Chynn.

The TV ad also features comedic actor Verne Troyer.

The "Kung Fu Fighting" mobile application, built using browser-based mobile widget technology from Nokia, lets mobile subscribers play a game, view exclusive media and link to the Pepsi Web site through devices based on S60 from Nokia and other manufacturers, as well as Nokia Series 40 devices.

The widget is available for download exclusively on http://www.pepsimundo.com. It officially launched on Nov. 3. The microsites will be up and running for six weeks.

The widget is available in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

"Pepsi asked us, 'How can we best leverage this campaign to extend its reach, and how do we engage the 14-to-20-plus Latino American demographic?' which a big audience for Pepsi," Mr. Case said.

"The mobile application will help Pepsi extend its reach into the mobile channel and drive traffic back to http://www.pepsimundo.com, while providing consumers with exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, available only via the mobile app," he said. "Our Pepsi app was built in Flash Lite 2.0 as opposed to Flash Lite 3.0, the most recent version, because it is much more ubiquitous in Latin America where devices are powered by the Nokia Symbian S40 operating system as opposed to the more powerful Symbian S60 platform."

Once the application has been downloaded and installed on consumers' mobile device, they can choose any of the three artists and vote for their favorite rendition of the song. They will see real-time percentages giving the voting results.

In addition, consumers can play a "time-waster" mobile game, further building Pepsi's brand interaction.

Every week, consumers can visit the Pepsi Mundo site to get a new unlock code, providing exclusive mobile content not on Web site, one-on-one interviews with the artists.

"The goal was to create a mobile application to extend the reach of Pepsi's 'Kung Fu Fighting' campaign, and we provided a cost-effective addition to the campaign," Mr. Case said.

"Mobile allows consumers to engage with brands when and where they choose, and with the way they engage with mobile content and with the number of providers changing on a daily basis, consumers expect more," he said.

"Whether it's accessing Twitter, blogging or video content when it's convenient for them, mobile provides that. We're providing an application-based consumer engagement video, which can be branded or sponsored, or an app on which you can sell ad space, mobile banner ads.

"Mobile is a very cost-effective way to engage consumers, and it can be used in tandem with traditional existing campaigns on print, online or TV, or it can be a comprehensive, standalone marketing vehicle, depending on the intended audience and the brand's goals."

Pepsi Latin America initially approached Forum Nokia to identify developer resources capable of delivering applications that can align branding, messaging and call-to-action results, and to take advantage of Nokia's significant device market share throughout the Latin America.

Forum Nokia provided the referral to the mobile development team of AgencyNet, which is a member of the premium-level Forum Nokia PRO developer program.

Nokia's global developer program, Forum Nokia connects developers to tools, technical information, support and distribution channels they can use to build and market mobile applications around the globe.

From offices in the United States, Europe, Japan, China and Singapore, Forum Nokia provides technical and business development support to developers and operators to help them launch applications and services to consumers and enterprises.

AgencyNet is a digital advertising and marketing agency, with offices in New York and southern Florida.

Founded in 1994, the agency has served clients such as Bacardi, Warner Bros., Ford, Sony, Howard Stern and President Bill Clinton.

In an age where mobile phones have become the most ubiquitous gateway to the Internet, the partners believe that, moving forward, a more holistic approach to digital marketing will be critical to both the fitness and survival of brands.

PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with 2007 annual revenues of more than $39 billion.

The company's products are sold in approximately 200 countries. Its principal businesses include Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods.

The PepsiCo portfolio includes 18 brands that generate $1 billion or more each in annual retail sales.

"By extending the Kung Fu Fighting campaign to mobile devices using the latest browser-based technology, we are offering our consumers something new and different," said Shanna Parra, regional marketing platforms manager for PepsiCo International, Purchase, NY.

"Mobile is the next revolution in content and allows us to create a higher level of consumer engagement," she said.

"We are delighted to be working with the support of AgencyNet and Nokia to allow consumers to engage with us wherever and whenever they choose."