Pepsi has answered the question this year in a big way. For the past 23 consecutive years they have run commercial during the Super Bowl…but not this year. In a decision that gives me hope, they are instead doing a social-media campaign to promote its “Pepsi Refresh” initiative.
Pepsi plans to give away $20 million in grant money to fund projects in six categories: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. People can go to the Pepsi website refresheverything.com – which can also be accessed through Facebook and Twitter – to both submit ideas and vote on others they find appealing.
Among those on the site now: “Form an all girls club that promotes self-esteem in poverty area” and “Build a fitness center for all students in Hays, Kansas community.”
Every month, the company will offer up to 32 grants to worthy projects in increments of $5000, $25,000, $50,000 and $250,000.
But why wouldn’t Pepsi use a Super Bowl commercial to create huge momentum for the movement? You’d think with an audience of over 100 million world-wide it would be a no-brainer.
In a recent TIME article by Sean Gregory he said, “The problem, say marketing experts, is mixing the medium with the message. ‘The Super Bowl is just too extravagant for something like this,’ says Lee Clow, chief creative officer and global director of media arts at TBWA Worldwide, the agency that created Pepsi’s campaign. “It’s seems like a contradiction to say you’re going to set aside $20 million in marketing dollars for a worthy cause, then turn around and spend $12 million on two 60-second spots for the Super Bowl. Couldn’t that money be put to better use?’”
Makes sense to me.
This move by Pepsi gives me hope. If a company wants to entice people to buy more of their products by doing good and giving back to good causes, I’m all for it. I have no delusions that Pepsi is doing this to be a good Samaritan. I’m sure there are people working at the higher levels with Pepsi who have a very strong social conscience. But when it comes down to it, big companies are only money-making machines- it’s all about the bottom line. And if they can make more money while doing good, I am behind it 100%.
So with that said, I’m encouraging everyone to go to www.RefreshEverything.com and vote every month for your favorite project. If this “test project” flops, they will go back to their old ways. But if something like this succeeds at this level it could set a precedent for more, and even bigger, social conscience movements. Can you imagine?!
Troy Stende uses experiential learning-based leadership programs to help schools develop student leaders and increase student retention. He believes those two things are inseparable and has been helping colleges and universities create connections and strengthen campus community since 1998.
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Great blog, Troy! I actually brought up during my Super Bowl party, “where are the Pepsi ads” and one of my friends told me about this initiative. A great example of a company doing the right thing at the right time and in the long run probably having more of an impact, in several ways, that those two minutes of advertising would have.