Dec 17, 2009
Time to Short Pepsi?
Pepsi, for years the largest advertiser in the Super Bowl, announced that they will not be Super Bowl advertisers this year.
Pepsi’s Super Bowl ads didn’t help them staunch a 7% decline in unit volume this year. That’s three times the decline of the soft drink market as a whole. And with the rise of online marketing channels and the high-risk, uncertain reward of Super Bowl advertising over the last decade, there may not be enough ROI to justify their commitment.
But the explanation provided in today’s Wall Street Journal by Frank Cooper, a senior Pepsi VP, is cause for concern.
Pepsi’s new tack is “not a condemnation of the Super Bowl,” says its Mr. Cooper. It would be too hard to explain Pepsi’s new marketing campaign in a 30-second TV spot, he adds.
If Pepsi can’t explain what they stand for in a 30-second spot, they don’t have it. It’s more likely their “new strategy” is a jargon-laden disaster in waiting than a solution to their sales woes.