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Pepsi Drops Super Bowl Ads... Goes With Online Promotions Instead

from the the-inevitable dept

Thu, Dec 24th 2009 5:30am — Mike Masnick

Earlier this year, I randomly ended up in a fascinating conversation with a marketing guy from Pepsi, who was telling me about some of the online marketing efforts the company ran during the 2009 Super Bowl, saying that they got the same "response" as the multi-million dollar Super Bowl commercials got, but only cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, rather than millions. Based on that I have to admit I'm not all that surprised to find out (via The Infamous Joe) that Pepsi has decided not to buy any Super Bowl ads for the 2010 game, but will be investing a ton in some online promotions. This is after 23 straight years of Super Bowl ads by Pepsi, costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars. I'm sure that the Super Bowl will be just fine (it claims it's sold out 90% of its ads already, though the prices did drop a bit this year, apparently), but it does suggest that some may be realizing that there are better ways to get your message out than spending a ridiculous sum for a single commercial spot.

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Filed Under: advertising, commercials, online, super bowl
Companies: pepsi

34 Comments

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The Anti-Mike, 24 Dec 2009 @ 6:26am

conclusions not supported by the evidence
it does suggest that some may be realizing that there are better ways to get your message out than spending a ridiculous sum for a single commercial spot.

Actually, if that was the case, other company brands such as Frito Lay etc would not be advertising on the Super Bowl, yet they are.

The only thing that this suggests is that after 23 years of advertising during the Super Bowl, they may have in fact reached their customers and no longer need to spend such high amounts to reach them.

You fail to note that the shift to more online advertising isn't just a change of venue, but also a change of demographic. Pepsi may be doing well in some demographics, and be weaker in others. Moving online may allow them to reach other demographics who aren't all that interested in football, or who aren't attentive to advertising during the big game.

Carry on.
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The Anti-Anti-Mike, 24 Dec 2009 @ 6:47am

Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
God in heaven, did you just ignore the entire first half of the paragraph, and the information obtained directly from a Pepsi marketing employee? He DID NOT make any reference to a specific demographic, but you do, simply to prop up your point.

You make me miss Weird Harold.

Dick.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 6:50am

Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
Good Morning Igtor!
How are you today? Is your Keeper keeping your your cage and play area clean? Let's of fresh fruit?
I personally think it's wonderful how they trained a gorilla to use the internet.
; P
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2009 @ 6:56am

Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
ok seriously people he is named THE ANTI-MIKE. This guy (or gal) is having quite a bit of fun with you all. Her (or his) arguments are hilarious caricatures of all the shills that come here. Grow a sense of humor, join in the fun, or ignore him!

No stop typing, he's (or she's) not for real, I don't care what evidence you have, STOP TYPING!
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The Anti-Mike, 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:01am

Re: Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
I personally think it's wonderful how they trained a gorilla to use the internet.

I do too. I am just wondering, did they have to get you a special chair, or do you use the same chairs as us humans do?
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Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:03am

Dark Helmet's Holiday Wish:
In the spirit of Holiday, that day held so high by the faithful members of the Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster, pesto be upon him, I have but one wish for the Holiday season:

I would like Mike to say something nice about Anti-Mike and vice versa. Make my wish come true!

Oh, and I'd also like all of Lobo's ugly pets to get their shots....of potasium....
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The Anti-Mike, 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:06am

Re: Dark Helmet's Holiday Wish:
Mike rarely makes spelling mistakes, and never makes the mistake of working on weekends or holidays. He's such a nice guy.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:08am

Re: Re: Dark Helmet's Holiday Wish:
"Mike rarely makes spelling mistakes, and never makes the mistake of working on weekends or holidays. He's such a nice guy."

Hey, thanks! The first one was actually relatively legitimate, so I'm counting it.

Mikes turn....
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KevinJ (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:11am

Re: Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
Huh? Who is this The Anti-Mike you speak of?

Oh, you mean the person that always posts something trying to disagree with Mike no matter the topic? The person who actually manages to agree with Mike even though he's trying to disagree? The person who's arguments rarely stand up to any logical reasoning? You mean him?

Sorry, don't know him.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:13am

Re: Re: Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
How cute, the ol' "takes one to know one" line of defense. Reliable since age 4.

Did you ever seek out the answer to my economic query, or have you chosen to retain your ignorance? Either is fine by me, but no intellectual debate for you until you can answer.
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mlass, 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:19am

Online Ads
Most of my day is spend online, so online Ads like GoDaddy to Hot for TV are worth while. I spend more time online watching Commercials after the Game than I do during the Game.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:22am

Re: Re: Re: Dark Helmet's Holiday Wish:
I agree with his second part as well. It's like being tech support for your family, just a big mistake.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:25am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Dark Helmet's Holiday Wish:
"I agree with his second part as well. It's like being tech support for your family, just a big mistake."

Brother, if that ain't truth then I don't know what is.

However, I'm fairly certain he ment it as a backhanded compliment. Still, the first part was good enough for me. Mike is an excellent speller after all....
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Anonymous Howard, 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:28am

Now, I wonder. Are we seeing Pepsi recognise that a large amount of people will be watching the superbowl through the internet, likely through unauthorised means?

Official advertising will probably be removed by the uploaders, but the uploaders' sites will still have online ads. If Pepsi can advertise aggressively online, it might get them the same or more exposure for less, effectively cutting the superbowl people out the equation.

Devious if true.

But I have to agree with Igtor. I mean Anti-Mike. Pepsi advertising to superbowl viewers is like preaching to the choir. Super-expensive ads that don't reach new eyes are no good to the wallet or the brand.

On the subject of branding,
Anti-Mike, if you consider changing your nickname, your opinions might face less opposition. It's kind of pathetic to think you can be taken seriously when you're called the Anti-Mike. You might as well call yourself Captain Asshole.
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Haywood (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:54am

Anything to slap the NFL
I'm just happy the tide is shifting away from professional athletics, if you can still call it that, it is more like performance art. Now if sponsors will just pull back from the baseball, hockey and basketball leagues & NASCAR as well....
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and watch them TV costs rise even mroe now, 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:59am

yup now your cable and tv will cost A LOT MORE
cant wait as more and more advertisers ditch tv altogether
this means what for you that PAY for tv
prce goes up , up , up and away
soon the only guy able to watch tv will be the mpaa president himself

and hten it will be reruns of reality tv all day long
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Yakko Warner, 24 Dec 2009 @ 8:09am

Is that good or bad?
It seemed like companies saved their best commercials for the Super Bowl, I'm sure in no small part since they spent so much on the time.

Hopefully they'll realize that the quality of the ad (or is that "content" ;) ) needs to remain high to attract the same viewership on the intertubes as it did on the airwaves, because a lot of those commercials were pretty entertaining. :)
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Joseph Durnal, 24 Dec 2009 @ 8:10am

Just for the ads?
The Super Bowl has a special place in advertising. Many folks claim that they watch it just for the ads. It's one of the biggest examples of advertising being content! Super Bowl ads have been a source of great entertainment over the years.

Have you ever heard anyone say that they got on the internet just for the ads?
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Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 8:14am

Re: Anything to slap the NFL
Leave the NHL alone...
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Bradley Stewart, 24 Dec 2009 @ 8:49am

Anyone Who Does Not Know
what a Pepsi is dose not own a television set. In which case they couldn't see a Pepsi ad anyway. I once heard a story about a fellow who had something a little more than a start up company who advertised on this game much to the horror of his partners due to the cost. For him and his partners it payed off. Other company's which are really household names need not waste the money.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2009 @ 9:04am

Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
"The only thing that this suggests is that after 23 years of advertising during the Super Bowl, they may have in fact reached their customers and no longer need to spend such high amounts to reach them."

Thank you for admitting you have no idea how marketing and advertising work.
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John Fenderson (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 9:31am

Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
"The only thing that this suggests is that after 23 years of advertising during the Super Bowl, they may have in fact reached their customers and no longer need to spend such high amounts to reach them."

No, it doesn't. Coke & Pepsi have both reached that saturation point many decades ago and were the first brands that were recognized by nearly every person on the Earth. If it were a matter of having already reached everyone, they would have both dramatically curtailed their advertising long ago.

The truth is that the Super Bowl ads have never been a good advertising value, and the companies that run them aren't expecting a direct return on that investment. What they are is the equivalent of building huge, fancy corporate headquarters or skyscrapers: a way of demonstrating that they are wealthy and/or powerful. It's a dick-measuring contest.

Kudos to Pepsi for bowing out of the contest. Like all such contests, everyone who takes part looks a bit like a loser.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 11:34am

Where the hell is the 2nd half of my Xmas wish?
Tiny Tim is beginning to cry....
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2009 @ 1:51pm

Re:
Would that mean Mike has to change his name to The Anti-Captain Asshole?
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BearGriz72 (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 2:53pm

Re: Anyone Who Does Not Know
"what a Pepsi is dose not own a television set."
Huh?
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Nina Paley, 24 Dec 2009 @ 3:53pm

Re: Where the hell is the 2nd half of my Xmas wish?
Well I'll say something nice about Anti-Mike and the other trolls on this site: they drive up comment counts, making articles appear far more interesting and important than they actually are. For example, you wonderful, wonderful trolls quickly drove comments on this article about me to 140 comments. 140! That made me feel very special and important, and I want to thank you all.
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The Anti-Mike, 24 Dec 2009 @ 5:25pm

Re: Re: Where the hell is the 2nd half of my Xmas wish?
Nina, you are special in your own way.

Dark Helmet, I am sorry, complain to management. I did my part to make Christmas special.
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Mike Masnick (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 6:11pm

Re: Where the hell is the 2nd half of my Xmas wish?
Oh, sorry. I hadn't been following this thread.

I actually quite enjoy having Anti-Mike around for the most part. It's always good to have people challenge your assumptions, and force you to try to explain yourself clearly.

My only issue is that even when we do clarify, he has been known to purposely misstate my positions. But, alas, it's good practice. When I come across people who *actually* are that clueless (and I don't for a minute believe Anti-Mike is as clueless as he paints himself), I'm easily prepared for them.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:23pm

Re: Re: Where the hell is the 2nd half of my Xmas wish?
Merry christmas to you, tam, and everyone else...
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nasch (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:28pm

Re: Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
Grow a sense of humor, join in the fun, or ignore him!

I vote for a combination of 1 and 3. If he gets no attention, and I mean nobody responding to him at all, he'll eventually either go away or change his tactics to something more interesting. I've decided to stop replying to him, because there is obviously no point. I have little hope everyone else will follow suit though. Maybe he'll just get tired of his game some day.
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slander (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 7:54pm

Re: Re: conclusions not supported by the evidence
Or it could just mean Pepsi™ looked down and realized that, when it comes down to it, Coke™ does have a bigger dick...
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Krash, 24 Dec 2009 @ 10:09pm

ya PEPSI
It is about time some company out there decided to realize that the over paid jocks chasing that pig skin around was not worth the cost. And maybe, just maybe they will pass the savings onto the people that drink Pepsico products.
Lower price, more product moving, stock holders smiling.

BTW: If you want the taste of Pepsi, just mix diet coke and Dr Pepper together, or is it the other way around.?? Not exact but it comes close.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Dec 2009 @ 1:14pm

A: Pepsi is better than Coke.

B: Quite a few people buy Coke when its on sale and switch to Pepsi when it is on sale.

C: Quite a few people love one or the other and wouldn't dream of switching.

D: Ads during the Superbowl are a huge ego push for the company but doesn't do much for their bottom line. Well, I guess it does reduce it some.

E: The Colts should be banned for all time for laying down for the Jets.

G: The person who said they watch little of the game but watch the commercials afterwards either mispoke or has never watched the Superbowl, because the good ads are at the beginning of the game, by the 4th quarter you could put on an old crappy ad because most of your audience will be so wasted at that point that they won't remember the ad anyway.

F: Most of the ads are created by ad agencies that are not designed to move product but to win the ad agency a nice award.

H: Yes, the G & F are switched, wanted to see if anyone is still reading this.

I Pepsi lowering its price because they don't have to spend money on a Superbowl ad? hahaha, thats funny.
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Yung Star, 4 Feb 2011 @ 12:59pm

Please Consider my New Song for Your commercial
Hello, I'm 14 year old Teen Rapper Yung Star just wrote an recorded my 2nd single called "GET CHA GAME ON" its a Great song to promote anything that have to do with "GET CHA GAME ON" I would luv for you to play my song doing your Commercial for the Superbowl...

Thank You...
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