Pepsi, Yahoo! Continue Marketing Relationship with Super Bowl Effort

Pepsi-Cola Co. is aiming to continue promoting its products and its brand online with the help of Yahoo, following the conclusion of its popular PepsiStuff.com campaign.

Through a deal with the portal giant, the consumer soft drink company will ask consumers to vote online for their favorite Pepsi spot from Super Bowls gone by. The commercial that receives the most online votes will air during the Super Bowl post game show on CBS.

Additionally, one hundred participants each will receive a check for $2001. Users can vote up to January 27.

Terms of Pepsi-Cola’s agreement with Yahoo were not disclosed.

The ads include 1991’s “Two Kids,” which introduced Pepsi’s new can design. That spot featured a pair of young boys who gawk at supermodel Cindy Crawford as she approaches a Pepsi vending machine — and the new-style Pepsi she’s holding.

Also in the running is 1987’s “Apartment 10G,” which features Michael J. Fox’s efforts to fetch a Diet Pepsi for an attractive new neighbor.

The commercials were created by Pepsi’s longtime advertising agency, BBDO New York.

The “Your Vote Counts” promotion, said Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi, is aimed at commemorating 15 consecutive years of advertising during the Super Bowl. Additionally, the company hopes to engage and involve people with the Pepsi brand.

“Television viewers rarely get the opportunity to determine what they’ll see on a network’s air,” said Dawn Hudson, senior vice president of strategy and marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America. “For ten days, Yahoo and Pepsi will give consumers that power. Advertising has become ‘the game within the game’ and this will encourage viewers to stay tuned after the game is over.”

“Your Vote Counts” marks the second major effort initiative in the alliance between Pepsi and Yahoo. The companies launched an earlier effort, PepsiStuff.com, in August. That five-month program aimed to boost Pepsi sales and online registrations, by giving points to consumers when they check under the caps of certain Pepsi and Mountain Dew products, and allowing them to redeem those points online for discounts. According to the companies, PepsiStuff.com had more than three million redemptions from August through December 2000.

For Yahoo, “Your Vote Counts” marks another effort at promoting its brand to advertisers, and selling its fusion marketing services, which aim to link offline brands with online contests and promotions. The Santa Clara-based company has done similar promotions for Subway Restaurants, Sketchers, Procter & Gamble, and other consumer goods manufacturers.

“Consumers have come to expect exciting and innovative commercial campaigns from Pepsi, and we are pleased to be able to bring these favorites back to viewers,” said Yahoo chief sales and marketing officer Anil Singh. “Through this program, consumers will have the unique opportunity to use Yahoo to choose preferred content that will be shown on another medium entirely — the ultimate in fusion marketing.”

Yahoo’s continued work for offline clients is especially important these days, as concerns about the Internet bellwether’s revenues loom, following guidance from executives last week forecasting two more quarters of soft ad spending overall. Meanwhile, rumors are afoot that Yahoo may be acquired, with Viacom and Disney being named as potential suitors.