http://econsultancy.com/blog/5180-pepsi-sits-out-the-super-bowl-but-advertisers-still-want-in-on-those-audience-numbers

For this year’s Superbowl, Pepsi has decided it will not buy a time slot for the commercials. Commercials run about $30 million per 30 second ad. Instead, Pepsi plans on running a campaign to give money to community projects around the country. It’s going to be using social media, such as Twitter, to get the message across.

The reason for opting out of the commercials all together is because Pepsi believes their message can’t be conveyed easily in a 30 second ad, and therefore are going to other mediums to send the message. So instead of spending the millions on the commercials, they’re going to spend it on grants, in which the idea will be spread through social media.

Personally, I think this is an interesting situation. How much money does Pepsi really need to spend on advertising anyway? It’s not like they’re going to die out anytime soon. Pepsi is a solid product that will last a long time. But, who just gives up a Superbowl slot to advertise to over 90 million viewers a year? A company that is successful, and a company that realizes that times are changing- that’s who.

This might start to become a leading trend in advertising. When a company can get its message to millions of people for free (or for far less than $30 million), who needs the Superbowl? I don’t think the commercials will die out anytime soon, but we might start seeing different types. Who knows. I just see a big change coming when a company like Pepsi is going to use Twitter instead of the Superbowl. 1. It shows the power of Twitter- clearly it’s a powerful site to connect with your customers and make/solidify your brand 2. I think other companies will start following suit.

So what do you think Superbowl ads will be like five or 10 years?