Since 1987 Pepsi has created a Super Bowl commercial for 23 years straight until 2010, when they saw an opportunity that would refresh the world. On Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 Pepsi launched its online Refresh project. The goal of the Pepsi Refresh project is to take the money that would have been spent on a Super Bowl advertisement and instead donate that money to people with great ideas.
Pepsi would have spent around 20 million for their Super Bowl commercial but took this money to award in the form of grants in the amounts of 5k, 25k, 50k, and 250k. To receive the grant money the contestants would go to @refresheverything.com and would pick from one of the six categories, Health, Arts and Culture, Education, Food and Shelter, Neighborhoods, and the Planet. Once the contest had an idea to better one of the 6 categories they would type up their idea and why people should vote for them. Pespi allowed up to 1,000 submissions each month and once they hit 1,000 they would cut off submissions and the voting began. People from all around the world could vote on their favorite ideas, and the ideas with the most votes would be awarded a grant in the amount of their choosing/how much they needed to bring their idea to life.
When the project first came up people were excited, they had hope that they could win a grant and fulfill their great ideas. The media coverage was also positive, major news outlets were eager to see where the project would go. Once the contestants started to receive their money, stories started to pop up about the great things the grant money and the contestants had accomplished. For example, a news article published by the Daily Record Morristown shares a story of a no-kill animal shelter that received $50,000 from Pepsi and how many animals the shelter was able to save because of the grant. Overall, the positive PR Pepsi was receiving was a great look for the company, however, the good vibes did not last long.
On January 5th, 2011 the New York Times came up with an article that accused Pepsi of cheating and fraudulent voting. The New York Times explained how a few non-profit groups mysteriously rose to the top of the polls and beat out other contestants for the money. Ideas that had been at the top felt that they had been robbed of their money and questioned how the other groups climbed so quickly. Pepsi started an investigation and tweaked the project by removing the $250,000 prize and dropping the Health, Planet, and Food and Shelter categories.
Not only were cheating accusations continuing to arise but Pepsi was down on sales and Diet Coke eventually took Pepsi’s spot as the nation’s no.2 soda. Unfortunately, these factors spoiled the good nature of the campaign and Pepsi ended the project in March of 2012.
Overall the Pepsi Refresh project was an incredible idea and a great example of cause marketing. The project supported thousands of ideas and gave people hope for a brighter and refreshed world. The grant money went to good causes and many organizations and individuals were able to improve and increase their efforts that helped others and the planet. If the Pepsi refresh project were to start up again today I would recommend that they follow Bombas, sales first approach. Bombas is a socks and apparel company that has a one-for-one policy. So for every purchase you make the company will donate a pair of socks or apparel to those in need like homeless shelters, schools, and nonprofit organizations. If Pepsi were to include a purchase of a Pepsi for one submission rule they would be able to keep up with sales and increase the longevity of the project.
Sources:
“Giving Back.” Bombas, shop.bombas.com/pages/giving-back. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.
Strom, Stephanie. “New Charges of Cheating Tarnish Pepsi Fund-Raising Contest for Nonprofits.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Jan. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/business/06charity.html?searchResultPosition=1.
“PEPSI REFRESH FROM START TO FINISH: FROM TAGLINE TO GRANT GIVER, THE HIGHLIGHTS (AND LOWLIGHTS).” Advertising Age, vol. 83, no. 36, 2012, pp. 31. ProQuest, https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/pepsi-refresh-start-finish/docview/1095736074/se-2.
Manochio, Matt. “Pet Shelter Getting $50,000 Pepsi Grant.” Daily Record, Aug 26, 2011. ProQuest, https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/pet-shelter-getting-50-000-pepsi-grant/docview/885477471/se-2.
Pepsi. “The Pepsi Refresh Project Announces 32 New Grant Recipients to Receive a Total of $1.3 Million to Refresh the World.” PR Newswire: Press Release Distribution, Targeting, Monitoring and Marketing, 30 June 2018, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-pepsi-refresh-project-announces-32-new-grant-recipients-to-receive-a-total-of-13-million-to-refresh-the-world-91899109.html.