Pretty much every American generation has grown up with its own flavor of beverage ads.

For the Flower Children, it was all about Coca-Cola, climaxing with the famous “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” TV ad.

For Gen X-ers, there was the Pepsi Challenge blind taste tests, which led to the development of fiendish sugarwater New Coke (for an interesting analysis of the story, pick up Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink).

Whether being told to do the Dew or be like Mike, thirsty Americans have never suffered a drought of clever and usually very expensive beverage campaigns.

So it’s refreshing to see a drinkmaker engage its audience through social media rather than drench it with in-your-face commercials.

In September, the beverage brand Vitaminwater (which is owned by Coca-Cola) launched a Flavorcreator tab on its Facebook fan page and began soliciting its fans (now over a million) to design the new flavor. They also created this genuinely funny commercial, starring their spokesman, Steve Nash — quite possibly the only famous athlete ever with actual comic timing. (Sorry, MJ.)

The winning flavor: black-cherry lime with a hint of caffeine. And the name: Connect. That’s surely a reference.

Here’s the fan page announcement Vitaminwater posted yesterday.

unlike the never-ending debate over whether it’s rock-paper-scissors or paper-rock-scissors, based on your votes and your designs, the latest flavor of vitaminwater has FINALLY been decided… introducing the black cherry-lime flavored vitaminwater named… connect! check out this new package- flavor & ingredients, nam…e & label design- all inspired by you- our fans. it’s got 8 key nutrients plus caffeine. thanks for all your help- especially to the grand prize winner Sarah from Illinois and the four other finalist http://budurl.com/q27w. vitaminwater connect will be available in stores nationwide in march this year- so until then, stay hydrated- and keep your eyes here for news, updates and special offers for connect, including a possible sneak tasting opportunity. and btw… it’s rochambeau!

Personally, I like Vitaminwater — though I mainly stick to the low-cal Vitaminwater 10 line. Carbonation + sugar = unhappy ’sophagus. But I love vitamins, and I LOVE caffeine, so I think I may have my new favorite drink (if they make a Connect 10). But taste aside, this was pretty much a model of a crowdsourced social media campaign.

Bottoms up.

Conscious hip-hop has Malcolm Gladwell. For the more hardcore types, it’s Robert Greene.

His book The 48 Laws of Power has been namechecked by the likes of Young Buck and Kanye. In September, the power strategist published The 50th Law, a collaboration with uber-rapper 50 Cent. Bound in gilded Bible leather, the muscular motivational book contains “ten lessons in fearlessness.” Preview it using the slideshow below, or peruse the chapter headings and summaries on Greene’s potently named blog.

Good rappers are born marketers for one reason: storytelling prowess. Famous and unknown MCs alike churn out stories by the notebookful, many of which amount to artful sales pitches about why the rapper in question is the best in the game. 50 Cent’s success is a testament to his salesmanship and communication skills. Indeed, when it comes to marketing advice, you could do a lot worse than listen to a verbal entertainer who’s net worth is estimated at $440 million. (On a related note, artists like Fiddy and Chamillionaire often happen to be forward-thinking when it comes to technology.)

Like a set of bonus tracks to the book, Greene’s recent guest post for Copyblogger, Four Things 50 Cent Can Teach You About Connecting With Your Audience, provides some good tips for anyone who hopes to use social media to promote their brand. Paraphrased, the lessons are: (1) crush the distance between you and your audience; (2) open informal channels of criticism and feedback; (3) reconnect with your base; and (4) treat people’s opinions as a mirror held up to you.

50 clearly pays attention to his fans. That’s awesome. Tell him yourself what you think of his new album, Before I Self Destruct, by sending him a message on Twitter.