The Big Fat Marketing Blog

Word came this morning via the Associated Press that PepsiCo will sit on the sidelines during Super Bowl XLIV, for the first time in 23 years. During that time the company has been known for its big-budget commercials featuring big-ticket music stars from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Britney Spears and Will.i.am.

(I hereby confess a lingering fondness for watching the 2008 Justin Timberlake get racked, smacked and sacked by various forms of Pepsi Stuff. That guy can take a flat screen to the forehead like nobody’s business.)



But this year Pepsi is foregoing the big game in favor of a community-based campaign, “Pepsi Refresh Project,” that will launch in January. Instead of paying out millions for seconds of air time, the company will put its resources into social programs proposed by its consumers.

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I’ve written fairly often about rebates. Mostly about the problems they have caused both marketers and consumers.

As a consumer, I can understand the frustration people experience. Buying a product promoted with a mail-in rebate means shelling out more dollars upfront, filling out sometimes complicated and lengthy forms, keeping track of receipts and product codes, mailing all the forms and then waiting and watching for the check to come. The process can further frustrate consumers if the form wasn’t filled out correctly or the proper receipt wasn’t attached.

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Getting featured in the Bloomingdale’s holiday catalog as a “Chic Treat Under $100” is just the kind of present every up-and-coming clothing designer hopes to find under the tree.

But the fashion line Boy Meets Girl, whose $78 “Coco” decorated hoodie has been so favored this year, hopes to leverage that good fortune even further by offering a virtual version of its real-life shirt in an online world.

It’s an interesting experiment in whether digital exposure can drive real-world sales. If it works as planned, girls will be able to dress their avatars in Fashion Fantasy Game in a digitized version of the same clothing they’ll ask their friends and relatives for at the holidays. more

A relatively unknown Mexican chain is testing an interesting concept: bring in a valid coupon—even if it’s for an oil change or dry cleaning—hand it over to the cashier and get a chance to “Spin the Wheel” to win a discount on a menu item.

The promotion is underway this month in Charlotte, N.C., at one of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina restaurants. If all goes well, the program will be rolled out to franchisees nationwide next year.

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Now that we’re safely through both the Thanksgiving eat-athelon and the kickoff of the various shopping seasons, offline and online, you may be ready for a bit of a respite from holiday cheer.

If so, too bad for you, because the “Elf Yourself” season is upon us, courtesy of OfficeMax. And this year, they’re taking that grassroots hit more viral than ever. more

Finally someone has come to their senses.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer wants the Feds to step in to review complaints from consumers about frequent flyer programs. The biggest complaint—and there is no shortage—are from people who get ready to plan a trip only to discover, with no thanks to the preferred airline, that their miles have expired.

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