Do We Really Need a Pepsi Youniverse?

Marketer-sponsored social networks seem so 2006, and yet they keep on coming. The latest: PepsiCo International’s Pepsi Youniverse, a soccer-themed network aimed at an international audience.

The social network uses a novel approach to get people to describe themselves. Instead of typing in their interests and their activities, visitors to the site can answer a series of questions about how they feel about soccer. There are no words, just photographs to choose from (some of which are really challenging to decipher). At the end, you’re launched into the social network, where you can learn what type of soccer fan you are (I’m a Kickabout King, even though the extent of my soccer fandom is watching my grade-schooler play) and compare yourself with Pepsi-backed soccer stars and other soccer enthusiasts.

Problem is, I’m not entirely sure that people will actually participate in the network. Sure, the picture-answers to the questions are intriguing (it’s all based on a concept called VisualDNA from Imagini Holdings, the creator of the Youniverse concept), but the whole socializing-within-a-brand-site idea is as discomfiting as it was back in 2006. And I’m surprised there’s not a way to widgetize any of the content (such as the stunning photographs) and take it to another social network site.

If the whole soccer social network idea sounds familiar, it is. In 2006, Nike launched Joga.com, its own soccer-themed social network. But when you visit the site today, there’s nothing but a placeholder for what appears to be the next iteration of the campaign, Jogatv.

Update: Starbucks is on the SN bandwagon, too. It launched My Starbucks Idea as a way for people to share ideas to make Starbucks relevant again. I like that everything is transparent. You know exactly what the site is for, and the ideas from consumers are front and center. This is a nice example of how companies can sponsor a social network that has a purpose.