CBS has only four commercial spots left to sell for the Super Bowl broadcast on Feb. 7, which would seem to indicate that major advertisers are as in love with the biggest commercial fest of the year
as always. But Pepsi's announcement last month that it would sit out the game underscores how the Internet is reshaping the marketing efforts of some of the game's perennial superstars, Meg James
reports.
Pepsi says it is focusing on digital media to get "deep consumer engagement" for its Pepsi Refresh Project, a multimillion-dollar grant program that encourages people to
submit ideas to "refresh their world."
To be sure, many observers feel that the impact of the Internet has made the Super Bowl loom ever larger as a deliverer of eyeballs. "The Super
Bowl has long been like the Empire State Building imposed against the Manhattan skyline," says Arnold Worldwide's Fran Kelly. "Now, in this fragmented media landscape, the Super Bowl is like the
Empire State Building set against the Hartford skyline. It towers over everything else."
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »