Amazon.com and Pepsi Partner For Free Download Promo

AMAZON.COM AND PEPSI HAVE TEAMED up in a Super Bowl promotion that gives consumers access to more than 3.25 million songs free of digital rights management restrictions (DRM) from 270,000 artists through Amazon MP3, a DRM-free music service introduced in September.

Four billion specially marked Pepsi packages will allow consumers to collect points and redeem them for music from a special section on the Amazon Web site. Consumers can play the digital songs they download on virtually any music-capable device, including PCs, Macs iPods, Zune iPhones, RAZRs and BlackBerrys, as well as organized in any music management application or burned to a compact disc.

This year, Justin Timberlake backs Pepsi's promotion. In a Super Bowl Pepsi Stuff commercial, Timberlake demonstrates how every sip of Pepsi can attract the music and stuff viewers want.

Several wild stunts have him flying high and rolling low as he narrowly escapes disaster at every turn in the "Magnetic Attraction" spot. Directed by Craig Gillespie and created by New York-based BBDO, the commercial demonstrates how Pepsi Stuff brings people closer to music, merchandise and apparel.

Beginning Feb. 1, consumers purchasing Pepsi products can bank their points on PepsiStuff.com and redeem them for music on Amazon MP3. Five points earn consumers one MP3 song download from the libraries of EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, among other music labels. Universal Music Group has music available at Amazon MP3, but declined to participate in the promotion.

"Amazon is the only site that offers 100% of their music catalog in the DRM-free MP3 format, and that includes music from the major and independent labels," says Nicole Bradley, Pepsi spokeswoman.

The promotion was made possible after the four major music labels agreed to offer their music catalogs for sale on Amazon MP3 in the unrestricted format, without DRM technology that prohibits consumers from making copies or moving the songs from one player platform to another.

Bradley says the brands participating in the Pepsi Stuff promotion fall under the trademark Pepsi, such as Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Diet Pepsi Max, and Diet Pepsi Jazz, among others. The products come in 20-ounce, 1-liter, 2-liter, 12-pack cans and 24-pack cans.

Each bottle cap and the take-home package of the participating products feature a 10-digit alphanumeric code. Once the codes are submitted on the Pepsi Stuff site, consumers are told how many points the code is worth. Consumers trade in the points for music at Amazon MP3. The promotion runs through December.

Music lovers and industry watchers are waiting to see whether Amazon's customer-centric business model can blossom into a credible music download service. "MP3 is the most universally compatible format, and the lack of interoperability is the reason people don't buy music," says Pete Baltaxe, director of digital music at Amazon. "The labels came to understand that Amazon is very in tune with customers, and they saw it our way."

That way gives consumers access to the top 100 tracks for about 89 cents, and millions more for 99 cents. Every song in the Amazon MP3 music download store is encoded at 256 Kbps to deliver high audio quality, and made available through its 1-Click shopping feature.

Consumers also can enter a daily sweepstakes for the chance to win trips to the Super Bowl, the MLB All-Star game, and the Daytona 500, as well as for cash and other big prizes. Consumers may sign up now to be reminded when the promotion begins at pepsistuff.com.

Pepsi has a long history in music, and has featured the biggest recording artists and a diverse range of chart-topping music in marketing campaigns. Recent campaigns have featured Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Bilge, Gwen Stefani and P. Diddy.

Link to MediaPost Article

Pepsi Wakes Up NYC Commuters

Provides Diet Max Shots -- and Whack-A-Yawn -- at Grand Central

By Emily Tan

Published: August 06, 2007

Event: Diet Pepsi Max Wake Up Station
Date: Aug. 1-2
Marketer: Diet Pepsi Max
Venue: Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall

Feeling sleepy this Monday, or maybe by midweek you just get rundown in your stuffy cubicle? Pepsi hopes to cure your yawns, as you've probably seen in its latest ads for Diet Pepsi Max.

A Diet Pepsi Max Sample Girl pouring out a shot of the ginseng and caffeine soft drink.

Photo Credit: Gregory Palmer

But an ad is one thing, so Pepsi set up shop at Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall with its newest soft drink to see if it could rouse sleepy-eyed New Yorkers and out-of-towners last week.

Extending campaign
Extending its "Wake Up People" campaign, those passing the Diet Pepsi Max Wake Up Station were treated to the drink, served in plastic Pepsi shot cups, to discover what ginseng and more caffeine than a cup of coffee could do.

The station looked more like a mini club bar, equipped with bright white and blue lights, a large flat screen showcasing its new TV spot and endless bottles of Diet Pepsi Max. It also had a number of misters (that couldn't be used indoors) that sprayed people with water (not Pepsi) to wake up their senses.

One passer-by tries her luck at Whack-A-Yawn.

Photo Credit: Gregory Palmer

After sampling the drink, people could test their hitting skills at a Whack-A-Yawn game (think old-school Whack-A-Mole). For those who enjoyed gaming, there was Squirt the Yawn, in which players shoot Diet Pepsi Max into people's mouths while they yawn using a Pepsi-bottle-shaped control. Those who scored high in either of the games were rewarded with a "Wake Up People" T-shirt, which all the brand reps wore at the event. Coupons and magnets were also handed out at the event.

Planning for the event started in April with Boulder, Colo.-based Action Marketing Group. The event, which started in July and lasts eight weeks, has been traveling to the six major markets -- Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York.

Drawing the curious
Although Grand Central is normally a hub for travel, people couldn't resist stopping by the station to play the games and, of course, try the drink. "This is the first in touch I've been with Diet Pepsi Max," said Constanze Sand, 28, of New York. "A lot of people are moving by here. It's a great location and the drink is good."

Taking a shot at the Squirt-a-Yawn game.

Photo Credit: Gregory Palmer

Feedback about the event has been positive so far, said Erica Pergament, associate brand manager, Diet Pepsi Max. "Consumers have been telling us how excellent Diet Pepsi Max tastes and how much fun they have been having at the sampling events," she said. "The events have been a huge success and a great way to kick off the launch of Diet Pepsi Max."

But there were still others who said they were loyal to other soft-drink brands. "I don't normally drink Pepsi, but it's good," said Caroline Vandenberg of Canada. "But I'm a Coke drinker, and I'll never switch."

Link to AdAge Article

BermanBraun sips with Pepsi

By Gail Schiller

July 19, 2007

NEW YORK -- Pepsi-Cola North America said Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement with Los Angeles-based production company BermanBraun that will give the company's beverage brands a first-look to fund, sponsor and be featured in original entertainment content that BermanBraun develops for online platforms.

BermanBraun, founded in February by former Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, former head of the Yahoo Media Group, said it already has a digital content studio up and running in New York and expects to announce a new head of its Internet group in about two weeks. Braun said the company will have offices in New York together with a new online production partner in another couple of weeks. BermanBraun expects to have an Internet studio operational in its Santa Monica offices in about six months, he said.

While the agreement is structured as a first-look deal, Pepsi and BermanBraun said the partnership is really about creating entertaining online content for Pepsi that is inspired by its brands, integrates its brands and is funded at least partly, if not completely, by its brands.

"We're going to be strategic partners together in the creation and production of original online content so that we can zero in very early on the kind of content they're going to be excited and passionate about sponsoring and getting behind," Braun said. "From the very beginning of the development process, we'll be working with them to create organic advertising solutions to embed in the content." Both companies declined comment on the financial terms of the agreement.

The deal clearly emerged from Braun's relationship with Pepsi while at Yahoo, where he developed the music show "Pepsi Smash" and "The 9," a daily countdown of the nine top-recommended Web videos or other Internet content, with viewers asked to submit the Pepsi 10th -- their suggestions for best Web content.

Pepsi and BermanBraun said they're hopeful the partnership will take Pepsi even further in creating compelling entertainment that also serves its marketing goals without turning viewers off with over-the-top commercial messages. "What we're trying to do has really never been done before," said Russell Weiner, vp marketing, colas, at Pepsi-Cola North America.

"What we're hoping to do is work with (BermanBraun) to create a new kind of content on the Internet that's entertainment but that's inspired by our brands and depicts our brands in a very integrated way," Weiner said. "We're very excited to have these minds that have been successful in these other mediums to help us bring breakthrough content to the Internet."

Braun said his company and Pepsi are committed to experimentation and taking risks to figure out new ways to connect Pepsi brands with content and the consumer.

Link to Hollywood Reporter Article