I really can't figure out what could be wrong with it. It's plain, clean, reminiscent of the brand as we know it, recognizable, subtly iconic, and there's really not much about it that will age poorly. If they could've paid more to get something else, what else would it offer? Pretty much anything that will "dazzle" people now is a sure shot to looked dated and tacky in a couple years.
They were tripping balls, that's for sure: http://creativecriminals.com/documents/pepsi_gravitational_f... (pdf)
I suppose they need to justify the bill. The golden ratio application to the Mona Lisa is hilarious.BREATHTAKING is a strategy based on the evolution of 5000+ years of shared ideas in design philosophy creating an authentic Constitution of Design. This chart documents the origin and evolution of intellectual property.