Pepsi is sitting on the sidelines of this year’s Super Bowl for the first time in 23 years. Instead, it is spending more than $20 million on a social media experiment entitled The Pepsi Refresh Project. Pepsi launched the initiative today at www.refresheverything.com. The program will award more than $20 million in 2010 to ideas that will “refresh” our world and move it forward in six categories: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to submit ideas on the refresheverything web site. Visitors are also encouraged to return to the site to vote on the best ideas. Your votes determine which ideas get funded. Voting begins online February 1 and winning grants will be allocated in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $250,000.

Pepsi is supporting the promotion aggressively with an interactive website, blog, “pop-up cafes” and various social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook. A well-designed Idea Tool Kit is also available for download to help you get started.  Pepsi Refresh is being lauded as the most ambitious mashup of crowdsourcing and cause marketing to date. Crowdsourcing is when you rely on the public to do research or work for you: in this instance, providing ideas that warrant Pepsi’s philanthropic dollars.

It’s a clever idea and one worth watching.

The gang at Talk is finalizing the game plan for Super Bowl XLIV — less than a month away on Sunday, February 7. We’re hosting our 3rd annual Talkies awards to honor the top 10 ads of the 62 spots that typically air throughout the Super Bowl. Our newly revamped Super Bowl Talkies website launches early next week at www.SuperBowlTalkies.com, and will feature live feeds to our Twitter and Facebook pages, opinion polls and videos of the 2008 and 2009 Talkie award winners, as well as classic Super Bowl ads.

Sales of Super Bowl XLIV spots have been brisk this year, particularly compared to 2009. This time last year, NBC still has quite a bit of inventory, but CBS is reportedly close to being sold out.

What a difference a year makes. Last year we were reeling from the recession and advertisers were cautious. And although economists tell us we’re now emerging from the downturn, several Super Bowl mainstays are sitting on the sidelines. General Motors, Fedex and Pepsi will not return this year. Several newcomers are eager to take their place, including Volkswagen, the Census Bureau and Pop-Secret Popcorn.

Another change this year is the price of the ads. Last year’s asking price was $3 million per 30-second spot. This year’s ads are selling for $2.5 to $2.8 million. It’s a buyer’s market!