diff --git a/roles/web/defaults/main.yml b/roles/web/defaults/main.yml
index 8d4b0053..561dda62 100644
--- a/roles/web/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/web/defaults/main.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ project_path: "{{ virtualenv_path }}/{{ project_name }}"
 application_log_dir: "{{ virtualenv_path }}/logs"
 application_log_file: "{{ application_log_dir }}/gunicorn_supervisor.log"
 requirements_file: "{{ project_path }}/requirements.txt"
+pip_use_upgrade_flag: false
 
 
 # Gunicorn settings.
diff --git a/roles/web/tasks/setup_django_app.yml b/roles/web/tasks/setup_django_app.yml
index 0facfd76..5b4c3c3f 100644
--- a/roles/web/tasks/setup_django_app.yml
+++ b/roles/web/tasks/setup_django_app.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 ---
 
 - name: Install packages required by the Django app inside virtualenv
-  pip: virtualenv={{ virtualenv_path }} requirements={{ requirements_file }}
+  pip:
+    virtualenv: "{{ virtualenv_path }}"
+    requirements: "{{ requirements_file }}"
+    extra_args: "{{ pip_use_upgrade_flag | ternary('--upgrade', omit) }}"
 
 - name: Run the Django syncdb command
   django_manage: