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Pepsi Goes Social, Leaves Behind the Super Bowl

by Terrence O'Brien on December 23, 2009 at 04:44 PM

Pepsi Going Social, Leaves Behind the Super Bowl

There has been plenty of talk in the past few years about how the Internet and social media are going to replace everything from newspapers and TV to shopping malls and classified ads. And while hyperbolic hypotheses about the death of traditional media haven't been completely unfounded, we haven't seen a major corporation or advertiser do much to prove them, either. Until now, that is.

Pepsi, for the first time in 23 years, will not be airing a commercial during the Super Bowl. The company that enlisted Britney Spears and Cindy Crawford, at the height of their respective careers, to hawk their wares, will instead be sinking $20 million into a social media and viral marketing campaign dubbed The Pepsi Refresh Project.

The project will officially launch on January 13th, with Pepsi asking people to submit ideas for how to "refresh" their communities. Then, on February 1st, those ideas will be opened up to a vote, and Pepsi will use the $20 million saved by skipping on the Super Bowl to fund thousands of the most popular ideas.

The decision is a risky one for Pepsi. Regardless of what happens, $20 million will be spent on community projects -- a generous act of philanthropy we heartily endorse. It remains to be seen, though, if the purveyor of carbonated sugar water can turn an act of charity into a viable buzz and -- as a result -- soft drink sales. An especially tough task, considering the current anti-soda, anti-high fructose corn syrup environment. [From: ABC News, via: Mashable]

Tags: advertising, pepsi, pepsi refresh project, PepsiRefreshProject, philanthropy, super bowl, SuperBowl

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