Pepsi Refresh Project

It was a great idea when Aviva Canada did it last year www.avivacommunityfund.org. This will be the first time in 23 years that Pepsi will not air an advertisement during the Super Bowl. That’s a big deal, both culturally and financially.


Instead of advertising during the Super Bowl, Pepsi is focusing its energy and money on its online presence where the brand believes a younger and accessible demographic is spending its time. 


The Pepsi Refresh Project is a multi-million dollar marketing platform that invites people to submit and vote for ideas that help make the world a better place. Pepsi is a brand that has always embodied the spirit of youth. Whether through social initiatives, or its place in pop culture, Pepsi has always fuelled and created culture. In 2009, Pepsi launched the Refresh campaign, celebrating optimism and its role in our changing world. This year, Pepsi is putting that optimism into action, with the launch of the Pepsi Refresh Project. Over the course of the year Pepsi will be awarding millions of dollars in Pepsi Refresh Grants. Rather than simply donating the money to charity, the Refresh Project promises to connect to consumers on a personal level, increasing their involvement with the brand by letting them decide which projects to fund. Submissions are welcome from all walks of life: consumers, for-profits, non-profits. Anyone with an idea is eligible. As for how the money is distributed, that’s up to the public too. Voting is open to everyone, and only the most popular ideas will be awarded Refresh Grants. This isn’t a cause marketing initiative. It’s not an advertising campaign. It’s not a social media campaign. It’s a refreshing new way of doing business, based on a firm belief at Pepsi that doing well means doing good.


The Pepsi Refresh Project will feature social-networking campaigns that leverage the participate/contribute-and-vote-online model that many brands have used in the past to encourage consumers to engage with their products via the Internet.


Pepsi is looking to appeal to the consumer’s more compassionate side by offering grants "to those presenting the best ideas to improve the communities we call home and, perhaps, transform the society we call America.” The $20 million digital-based project will highlight a new website and Facebook presence – because isn't that where all the kids are these days? And their parents for that matter?
Ralph Santana, VP of marketing for PepsiCo North America, felt strongly about the new strategy: “We’re living in a new age with consumers. They are looking for more of a two-way dialogue, storytelling and word of mouth. Mediums like the digital space are much more conducive towards that.”

Pepsi Refresh Project

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Pepsi is giving away millions each month to fund refreshing ideas that change the world. The ideas with the most votes will receive grants. We're looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact. Look around your community and think about how you want to change it.

Join the Pepsi Refresh project today; anyone can submit their ideas and vote for their favorites. Your idea could help change the future. Your vote will help great ideas become reality. For grant ideas, or to submit your own, visit www.refresheverything.com.

The big winner is this development, however, is Facebook. Major brands such as Budweiser and Coca-Cola are increasingly investing advertising dollars and building their marketing strategies around the popular social platform. Facebook allows corporations to contact consumers directly with the creation of brand-centric pages and themed applications. 

And now, Pepsi will skip commercials during the Super Bowl in favor of a more contemporary and personal form of advertising.

If it is successful, look for big changes in how brands invest in Super Bowl commercials in the future and Channel selection guided by reach of your target market should always apply.


Advertising Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles, USA
Global Director of Media Arts: Lee Clow
Chief Creative Officer: Rob Schwartz
Group Creative Director: Brett Craig
Interactive Creative Director: Michael Tabtabai
Associate Creative Director: Xanthe Hohalek
Art Director: Dustin Artz
Copywriter: Chris Jones
Managing Director: Erica Hoholick
Account Director: David Dreyer
Management Supervisor: Kristen Latto
Executive Producer/Agency Producer: Anh-Thu Le
Assistant Producer: Doris Chen
Production Company: Paranoid US
Director: Francois Vogel
Director of Photography: Michael Cleary
Executive Producers: Cathleen OConor/Claude Lettessier
Line Producer: Janice Biggs
Editorial: Union Editorial
Editor: Einar Thorsteinsson
Assistant Editor: Daniel Moreno-Luna
Executive Producers: Michael Raimondi, Megan Dahlman
Producer: Joe Ross
Visual effects: Resolution
Sr. Visual Effects Supervisor: Todd Iorio
VFX Artists: Amir Qureshi, Seth Silberfein
Compositors: Evan Guidera, Jason Jenson, John Nierras, Mannix Richenbacher
Music: The Black Eyed Peas One Tribe
Mixing Facility: Resolution LA
Mixer: Josh Eichenbaum