Cause Marketing Feature: Pepsi Does Something Refreshing

A few months back, I wrote a piece in which I discussed the fact that American Consumers were challenging corporations to save their advertising dollars and focus on the bigger picture of giving back. Apparently, one of the industry heavy hitters is taking heed.For the first time in 23-years, Pepsi will not feature ads for their drinks during the Super Bowl this year on CBS.  The company spent $33 million advertising products like Pepsi, Gatorade, and Cheetos during the 2009 Super Bowl: $15 million of it on Pepsi alone.So where will the dollars go? Well, the nation's second-biggest soft drink maker is investing in its "Pepsi Refresh Project". The initiative will pay at least $20 million to projects people create to "refresh" communities.Starting this week, people can list their projects, which could range from helping to feed people to teaching children to read. Visitors can vote as of February 1st to determine which projects receive money.Pepsi estimates the effort will fund thousands of projects and says other businesses will pledge money, too.Now that’s refreshing. What say you Coca-Cola?