• by July 10, 2001

This is proof that major advertisers are beginning to use the Internet in conjunction with their offline ad campaigns. As the Major League Baseball All- Stars hit the field for the 72nd All-Star Game tonight, sluggers Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey, Jr. will make their debuts in a new Pepsi commercial that air first on the Internet then on television.

At 6:00 p.m. EST, baseball fans who log on to http://www.pepsi.com will be able to view the commercial, see behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot and enter to win autographed items from Griffey, Jr., and Sosa. The commercial will then air during the game telecast, which begins at 8:00 p.m. EST on FOX Sports.

Set at the All-Star Game at Safeco Field, the commercial is a tribute to the science of hitting. Griffey, at the plate, sees a pitch and decides he likes it. In fact, he decides so quickly, time slows and he begins to ponder other aspects of his daily life. All is well (and still, less than a half-second has transpired) until he notices Sosa eyeing the Pepsi that Griffey thought he left safely in the dugout. His Pepsi in peril, Griffey makes the necessary adjustments to protect it. Titled "1/2 Second," the commercial was created by Pepsi's longtime advertising agency, BBDO New York.