Pepsi Missing A Super Advertising Opportunity?

Don't look for Pepsi's great commercials this year. The company will not be spending the estimated $2.5 million for 30 seconds of air time during the most popular advertising spot on TV, the Superbowl. Instead, the company has decided to stop the 23 year run and shift to social media and helping the world, which is a great thing. This new interactive campaign, "Pepsi Refresh," plans on giving $20 million in grants to fund projects for health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. The website Refresheverything.com is going to be extremely active with people voting and submitting ideas on the most appealing projects for the money. When you go to vote, you can connect through Facebook and Twitter which shares your interest with your friends. I know they want this to go viral and it is a great idea, but I'm not sure how many people are going to talk about this at our status meeting on Monday at TGR. Ultimately, sales will determine if Pepsi made the right choice.