PepsiCo’s beverages will be totally out of the advertising at Super Bowl XLIV. Instead of spending money on its soda’s promotion, the company will focus on social projects. It is a huge and bold step for the food and drinks producer, as the company will keep away from the event for the first time in 23 years.
Still, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay sibling with the Doritos snacks, stays in and its ads will be broadcast during the sport competitions on February 6.
«The Super Bowl broadcast can be an amazing stage for advertisers if it aligns with their brand strategy,» noted Frank Cooper, a senior vice president at Pepsico Americas Beverages. «However, brands should not blindly anchor themselves to history.» PepsiCo is saying ‘good bye’ to the sport event’s advertising platform for good (at least, these are the plans for now).
The soft drink manufacturer leaves its warm place to its main rival, Coca-Cola. The CBS channel is aimed to sell out time for 62 commercials 30 seconds per each to various brands, but PepsiCo will not be among them now, which is a perfect opportunity for its competitors to step forward. The network stated in November that 90% of the advertising time slot had been already sold.
Last year the company was one of the major four advertisers at Super Bowl, but in 2010 it is going to invest into its «Pepsi Refresh Project«, starting on January 13. The new campaign is a rich grant program, under which Pepsi will give money to projects aimed at bringing positive changes to environmental, health, educational, etc. spheres.