To Advertise, or not to Advertise, tis the Question

Superbowl is always the go to place for the who’s who of advertising, all the big names always have representation, that is until this year. Some big names like Pepsi even chose to not advertise at all, ending their 23 year run. A Pepsi rep stated "In 2010, each of our beverage brands has a strategy and marketing platform that will be less about a singular event and more about a movement." Smart or stupid choice some may ask, well I would go with strategic. The new “Pepsi Refresh Project” is donating 20 million dollars to charitable efforts, which is going to get them awesome publicity. In this day and age, money is tight and it is hard to justify spending3 million dollars for a 30 second spot when Haiti is suffering in the aftermath of the earthquakes and people here are still in the midst of a recession.

While Pepsi chose to sit this year out, some big players like Doritos decided to take a new approach. Doritos had a contest entitled “Crash the Superbowl,” which allowed contestants to create spots and submit them to be entered to air during the Superbowl. However, the stakes were higher than just getting airtime; there were quite a lot of Benjamin’s at stake. Winners could win anywhere from 25K up to 2 million dollars.

Anyone who watched the Superbowl and has a sense of humor already knows that Doritos hit it big. Their spots were witty, funny and definitely memorable. They were appealing to their target demographic and have received tons of pre and post airing publicity.

For some, like Pepsi they made the strategic decision to conserve money and use it to better the world. For others like Doritos they took a unique approach and got more than their money’s worth. I guess at the end of the day the proverb “To each, their own” stands true. It will be interesting to see what the big players bring to the table next year.