Snapping a 23-year streak on the gridiron, PepsiCo 's beverages will sit out Super Bowl XLIV, as the soft-drink and snack giant puts its advertising muscle behind a new cause-related marketing program.

The move is an about-face for Pepsi, which was the biggest advertiser on last year's broadcast of the big game and has long made the National Football League championship the centerpiece of its marketing strategy. Pepsi has used the event, TV's priciest showcase for ads, to launch splashy spots starring celebrities such as Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford and Ozzy Osbourne.

"In 2010, each of our beverage brands has a strategy and marketing platform that will be less about a singular event," says Frank Cooper, senior vice president of PepsiCo Americas Beverages. However, Doritos, a PepsiCo snack brand, will advertise during the game broadcast.

The decision leaves the field open for archrival Coca-Cola , which is putting the finishing touches on a Super Bowl ad that will feature the Simpsons, according to a person familiar with the matter. Coke jumped back into Super Bowl advertising in 2007, after an eight-year hiatus, and has given Pepsi some tough competition in generating Super Bowl buzz.

To implement its new strategy, Pepsi, based in Purchase, N.Y., will plunge into the crowded field of cause-related marketing in coming weeks with a campaign to kick off "Pepsi Refresh Project." Under the program, Pepsi will award grant money for community projects proposed and selected by consumers, such as helping high-school students publish books to develop their writing skills. Pepsi says it has earmarked $20 million of its ad dollars for the grants next year.