PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo’s Pure Leaf iced tea brand that believes there is no shortcut to making exceptional iced tea, unveils its first-ever purpose-driven campaign: “No Is Beautiful.”  The campaign, starring Amy Poehler,  is derived from and celebrates the way Pure Leaf embraces the word ‘no’ when brewing iced tea. The brand says no to artificial flavors, no to tea powders and concentrate, and no to anything that doesn’t make Pure Leaf taste better. “No Is Beautiful” aims to inspire people to say “no” to the things that do not matter in tea and in life, so they can say “yes” to more of the things that do.

New research conducted by Pure Leaf reveals that always saying yes and over-committing is a major problem, where almost 70% of both men and women revealed feeling some pressure, especially in their professional lives. This burden is leading to unprecedented stress, particularly for women, half of whom revealed that they don’t feel empowered to say no to things in their professional lives, while only a third (34%) of men share the same sentiment. Almost all women, 85%, agreed that taking on too many tasks negatively affects their quality of life and 86% agreed that being able to simply say no to more undesired asks would feel liberating.

“Saying no is at the heart of how we brew our iced tea,” said Katrina McDonald, senior director, Pepsi Lipton Partnership. “At Pure Leaf we embrace the beauty of saying no, but also understand that today’s society operates differently. To-do lists grow and there is overwhelming pressure to say yes to everything and do it all. We wanted this campaign to remind people that saying ‘yes’ to more ‘no’ isn’t always a bad thing because no is beautiful.”

While the brand can’t check off every item on everyone’s to do list, Pure Leaf understands the importance of starting somewhere. The brand is fully committed to helping normalize “no” in order to say “yes” to what really matters and the “No Is Beautiful” campaign is already coming to life in the following ways:

In addition to a 60-second TV ad currently on-air narrated by Amy Poehler (produced by DDB), Poehler also worked with Pure Leaf to launch a light-hearted digital series titled, Once Upon a No, which reimagines classic fairy tales to show how the word “no” can be beautiful. The series was directed by Poehler’s friend and former co-star, Rashida Jones, and debuts today in honor of National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Out of home advertising and in-store retail amplifications will also cleverly depict the campaign message.

“There are times when I love the power of no, so of course I was happy to be part of this campaign when Pure Leaf shared it with me,” said actor and producer Amy Poehler. “The Once Upon a No videos are a fun way to show how you can change the outcome of an entire story with just one word, and getting the chance to be directed by my beautiful wife Rashida Jones put it over the top for me. Ironically, when Pure Leaf approached us both, it was easy to say yes!”

In celebration of “No Is Beautiful” and Once Upon a No, fans are also invited to rewrite and imagine their own fairy tale for a chance to win an illustrated version, and a once-in-a-lifetime fairy tale adventure.  For official details and rules, visit www.OnceUponANo.com.

For consumers in New York City today, on National Tell a Fairy Tale Day, Pure Leaf will host an interactive experience in Times Square to submit a uniquely personal, re-written fairy tale on-site for a chance to appear on a jumbotron billboard in Times Square.

New Pure Leaf Cold Brew iced tea, which utilizes a “no rush” approach, hits shelves in early March. Its brewing time is three times longer, resulting in a smoother tasting iced tea. Sundance Film Festival attendees were able to get an exclusive taste of Pure Leaf Cold Brew iced tea at this year’s festival and beginning in March, Cold Brew will be available at retailers nationwide in three flavors: Slightly Sweet Black Tea, Slightly Sweet Black Tea with Mango, and Unsweetened.

Pure Leaf Herbal Iced Teas are also adding two new delicious flavors that will hit store shelves in March: Unsweetened Hibiscus Mango, and Raspberry Chamomile. Masterfully crafted and made from real-brewed herbal tea leaves, these new tea blends say no to caffeine and yes to flavor.

Pure Leaf will continue to partner with like-minded ambassadors like Poehler, including bestselling author of Fair Play, Eve Rodsky, to amplify the campaign message and offer resources for time management and prioritization.

The brand is working closely with Human Resource leaders within the Pepsi Lipton Partnership on ways of working that both reflect and encourage the “say ‘yes’ to more ‘no'” spirit both personally and professionally.

To learn more about Pure Leaf and No Is Beautiful, please visit www.pureleaf.com, and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube at @pureleaf.