• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 19, 2009

In a social media effort that is part of its new "Refresh Everything" campaign, Pepsi is making use of an application that lets users upload their own videos directly through an ad banner.

The "Dear Mr. President" effort seeks to encourage Pepsi's Millennial target audience to upload videos expressing their thoughts to today's incoming president on what should (and shouldn't) be changed about the country.

The banner began appearing on Yahoo Music and the Google Content Network on Jan. 14, and will be online through today. A click into the banner takes the user directly into the Refresh Everything area on YouTube, where a video can be uploaded as usual. (Those without Webcams can instead submit a text message in either the YouTube area or the main Refresh Everything Web site.)

R/GA, which created the digital components of the new Refresh Everything campaign, including the Web site, partnered with Eyeblaster to develop the Web 2.0 banner application.

According to R/GA EVP, chief marketing services officer Dawn Winchester, "this is the first time an ad banner has recorded video in this manner."

"People are less and less interested in visiting destination sites," says Amit Rahav, VP of marketing for Eyeblaster. Technology that enables direct, immediate interaction, like this in-banner video upload, can increase response/conversion significantly, he says, adding that the banner is performing "nicely above benchmarks."

Winchester notes that while YouTube is the hub of the overall digital campaign, interaction with the brand is also being fostered through the campaign site, a mobile site and other social sites. Refresh Everything launched a few weeks ago on Facebook and already has more than 170,000 fans, she reports.