Pepsi announced the latest round of Pepsi Refresh Project Grant recipients, who have been collectively awarded $1.3 million. The Pepsi Refresh Project, a ground-breaking initiative designed to fund good ideas, big and small, that help refresh our world, will award more than $20 million in 2010 to the ideas voted most likely to move our communities forward by the public via online voting.

PepsiCo and Waste Management, Inc. announced a multi-year partnership in support of the Dream Machine recycling initiative designed around PepsiCo’s goal of increasing the U.S. beverage container recycling rate from 34 percent to 50 percent by 2018. Dream Machine kiosks are computerized receptacles that include a personal reward system that allows consumers to collect and redeem points for each bottle or can they recycle in the kiosk.

Recently Walkers created a huge promotional campaign dedicated to crisps for hamburgers, and now the snack brand is kicking off another large-scale project to find the world’s favourite flavour of crisp. The total prize fund of the new campaign is £200,000 — Walkers will give out £1,000 on a weekly basis and a grand prize of £10,000 for each flavour’s top-voted entry.

Oasis, the UK’s on the go juice drink, is launching a year-round campaign to make British happier. Introducing the strap-line «Fruity Drinks and Lunchtime Dreams» the Coca-Cola Great Britain brand will be continuing to target its core audience of twenty-something men and women with the campaign, showcasing the extraordinary lengths to which Oasis will go to make lunchtimes better.

I talked previously about the growing cultural synergy between art and design  — with the place of the artist starting to be taken by designers whose purpose driven approach seemingly makes them more relevant and directional in our world today. Fashion Design has, of course, always been a cultural compass to steer brand and package design developments in certain sectors such as beauty. But, now, we are witnessing — not just many more fashion design and brand collaborations but — the tables starting to turn with brand and packaging design per se potentially steering new and different directions for fashion.

PepsiCo International and Microsoft Advertising announced the launch of an integrated digital advertising campaign to celebrate this year’s summer of football. Running in 14 markets worldwide, including Europe, the Middle East and South America, the campaign will drive brand engagement for PepsiCo International and brand entertainment experience online through the MSN portal.