There was one thing missing from the Super Bowl football advertisements this year, one brand decided not to air a single commercial throughout the game (at least not for their most popular soft drink). If you didn’t notice, Pepsi chose not to use the big bucks it normally spends on hawking up another 30 second multi-million dollar advertisement in a talking bear, Cindy Crawford or a Justin Timberlake spoof. Instead they are spending over 20 million on a social media campaign that is rocking the foundations of how corporations can help; anything from small communities to large worldwide struggles.

Pepsi is calling the campaign the ‘Pepsi Refresh Project’, with a mission to give out grants to individuals who can come up with ways to change the world for the better, from artist grants, to health, to food, to the environment. Pepsi is giving you the power to make a stand, and to fund your ideas for the future. Do you have a community garden you would like to start, or a transportation service that would assist the town you live in? The possibilities are endless, and truly only your imagination holds the limitations.

Here in Bozeman Montana we have a lot of great people, but not enough bicycle support (the only way to get a bike is to buy one). It is for this reason that I wrote up a grant for Pepsi Refresh to help me start a ‘bike share’ in our city. The idea is based on the Free Cycles program in Missoula. The project would start by collecting donated bikes from around the valley and using volunteers to restore them to a ride-able condition. All of the bikes would then be spray-painted the same color for identification. Then the bicycles would simply be placed within hot-spots around town. The bikes are free for anyone to take, and ride, and leave when they are done. This promotes a healthier environment by encouraging riding and walking instead of driving a car. This is my idea, what is yours? (Make sure to submit your idea on the ‘1st’ day of the coming months, Pepsi is only taking 1,000 a month, and they go fast.)