Pepsi is a huge American advertiser. As a producer of beverages, it must spend vast amounts of money to maintain the awareness of their brand. They have strong presence in every form of media and sponsor sports and music events.

The Super Bowl is a major sports event that draws millions of viewers to the TV screens. Advertisers work hard to bring new and original ads to this specific game. Some viewers admit that they watch the game only to see what creative clips the advertisers come up with.

Leaving the scene to Coca Cola?

Pepsi was there for 23 years. And suddenly they’re gone, leaving the scene to Coca Cola. The immediate benefit is clear – everybody’s talking about their absence from the game. I’m no different.

The money saved on ads goes to an initiative that talks to the customers: they’re asked to submit philanthropic ideas on Pepsi’s site, and winning ideas will receive grants. Many say they are hypocrites – ruining children’s teeth and pretending to help them afterwards.

But the move got attention on many social networks. The tag #pepsirefresh is very hot on Twitter. They got their buzz not only from missing out on the Super Bowl, but also with their new campaign.

Is this the beginning of something new?

The Super Bowl is over, but it’s still too early to say if their campaign will continue to be hype. This is a first and interesting test. The bigger question is whether other companies will follow Pepsi. Will the balance of budgets move from television to the web? Will directly communicating with the customers and “listening to them” become a wide phenomenon?

I’m optimistic. I draw my hope from Obama’s micro donations campaign. Until Barrck Obama’s primaries campaign, politicians leaned on rich and influential people or corporations for donations. Small donations from supporters existed, but they were in small scale.

Obama’s team changed the way of thinking. Donations from corporations are still dominant in the American political scene. It’ll take ages until politicians distance themselves from them. It might never happen. But the concept of micro donations did gain ground in the US, and is also being mimicked elsewhere.

So, I believe that Pepsi’s move is just the beginning.

Further reading: Facebook as a customer relationship management tool.