Soft drink giant Pepsi kicked off its summer marketing campaign by floating a giant inflated pink flamingo around New York City Monday.

A barge pushed by one of the Miller’s Launch tugboats out of Staten Island cruised along the Hudson and East rivers with the oversized pool toy lashed down and bobbing in the breeze.

The stunt was a reference to the soda maker’s “Always Pool Ready” advertising slogan, tied into a social media marketing campaign, followed in the evening by a party at Manhattan’s Pier 17 with social media personalities DJ Khaled and Chrissy Teigen.

Similar inflated figures floated Monday in Los Angeles, Calif., from Long Beach to Malibu, on Biscayne Bay at Miami, and at the Navy Pier in Chicago.

Contributing Editor Kirk Moore was a reporter for the Asbury Park Press for over 30 years before joining WorkBoat in 2015. He wrote several award-winning stories on marine, environmental, coastal and military issues that helped drive federal and state government policy changes. He has also been an editor for WorkBoat’s sister publication, National Fisherman, for over 25 years. Moore was awarded the Online News Association 2011 Knight Award for Public Service for the “Barnegat Bay Under Stress,” 2010 series that led to the New Jersey state government’s restoration plan. He lives in West Creek, N.J.