The Cola wars are the long-time rivalry between soft drink producers The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, who have engaged in mutually-targeted marketing campaigns for the direct competition between each company's product lines, especially their flagship colas, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Beginning in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the competition escalated until it became known as the cola wars. [1] [2]
In 1886, John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, developed the original recipe for Coca-Cola. By 1888, control of the recipe was acquired by Asa Griggs Candler, who in 1896, founded The Coca-Cola Company. [3] [4] Two years later in 1898 in New Bern, North Carolina , Caleb Bradham renamed his "Brad's Drink" to "Pepsi-Cola," and formed the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1902, prompting the beginning of the cola wars. [5]
The two companies continued to introduce new and contemporary advertising techniques, such as Coke's first celebrity endorsement and 1915 contour bottle, until market instability following World War I forced Pepsi to declare bankruptcy in 1923. In 1931, Pepsi went bankrupt once more, but recovered and began selling its products at an affordable 5 cents per bottle, reigniting the cola wars through to today. [6] Pepsi offered to sell out to Coca-Cola following both of its bankruptcies during this time, but Coca-Cola declined each time. [7]
Coca-Cola advertising has historically focused on wholesomeness and nostalgia. Coca-Cola advertising is often characterized as "family-friendly" and often relies on "cute" characters (e.g., the Coca-Cola polar bears mascot and Santa Claus around Christmas). [8]
During the peak of the cola wars, as Coca-Cola saw its flagship product losing market share to Pepsi as well as to Diet Coke and competitors' products, the company considered a change to the beverage's formula and flavor. In April 1985, The Coca-Cola Company introduced its new formula for Coca-Cola, which became popularly known as "New Coke". Consumer backlash to the change led to the company making a strategic retreat on July 11, 1985, announcing its plans to bring back the previous formula under the name "Coca-Cola Classic". [9] Some think the decision to replace the original flavor was actually a strategic masterstroke to bolster Coke sales once it came back on the market, which it did; however, the Coca-Cola Company vehemently denies the claim. [10]
Pepsi advertising is heavily supported by strategic sponsorships and online marketing. Pepsi's logo utilizes the red, white and blue colors of the flag of the United States, drawing on a strong sense of patriotism throughout its branding. [6]
In 1975, Pepsi began showing advertisements based on the Pepsi Challenge, in which ordinary people were asked which product they preferred in blind taste tests. [2] The campaign suggested that, when it came down to taste alone, consumers preferred Pepsi over Coca-Cola. In at least some of these tests, the Coca-Cola was kept at 0 °C, which is too cold for the taste to come out, whereas the Pepsi Cola was kept at regular refrigerator temperature, rigging the test [ citation needed ]. This prompted Coca-Cola's creation of the successful Diet Coke in 1982, and the unsuccessful New Coke three years later, both of which led to a major shifting point in the cola wars. However, the Pepsi Challenge was a marketing campaign and not a scientific study. Subsequent studies with scientific controls found only modest differences between Pepsi and Coke. [9]
In the mid-1990s, Pepsi launched its most successful long-term strategy of the cola wars, Pepsi Stuff. Using the slogan "Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff", consumers could collect Pepsi Points on packages and cups which could be redeemed for free Pepsi merchandise. After researching and testing the program for over two years to ensure that it resonated with consumers, Pepsi launched Pepsi Stuff, which was an instant success. Due to its success, the program was expanded to include Mountain Dew and Pepsi's international markets worldwide. The company continued to run the program for many years, continually innovating with new features each year. [11] This line of commercials led to the court case Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. , which was chronicled in the 2022 Netflix show Pepsi, Where's My Jet?
Super Bowl LIII was played in Atlanta, which is where Coca-Cola has its head office, in 2019. Pepsi had been a major sponsor of the NFL for years, most recently renewing its sponsorship deal in 2011. Pepsi advertising tied to the game poked fun at the situation with slogans such as "Pepsi in Atlanta. How Refreshing", "Hey Atlanta, Thanks For Hosting. We'll Bring The Drinks", and "Look Who's in Town for Super Bowl LIII". Both companies ran television ads during the Super Bowl, as Coca-Cola aired the commercial "A Coke is a Coke" just before the Super Bowl's National Anthem, while Pepsi ran a series of ads with the tagline "Is Pepsi OK?". [12]
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi made use of celebrity branding in the Cola wars, using musicians as spokespeople. Coca-Cola hired Paula Abdul to represent them, while Pepsi hired Michael Jackson. [13] Jackson helped Pepsi with public relations and advertising, even suggesting that the company use his song "Billie Jean" as their jingle. [14]
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, [15] a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. [16] Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5 million (equivalent to $4.4 million in 2023) settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now-closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. [17] [18]
Many of the brands available from the three largest soda producers, The Coca-Cola Company, [19] PepsiCo [20] and Keurig Dr Pepper, are intended as direct, equivalent competitors. The following chart lists these competitors by type or flavor of drink.
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".
The Coca-Cola Company's formula for Coca-Cola syrup, which bottlers combine with carbonated water to create the company's flagship cola soft drink, is a closely guarded trade secret. Company founder Asa Candler initiated the veil of secrecy that surrounds the formula in 1891 as a publicity, marketing, and intellectual property protection strategy. While several recipes, each purporting to be the authentic formula, have been published, the company maintains that the actual formula remains a secret, known only to a very few select, and anonymous, employees. The claim that the recipe is only known to two people and that they cannot fly on the same plane due to the chance they may die, and the recipe will become unknown, is a myth and has been fact-checked multiple times.
Coca-Cola Vanilla is a vanilla-flavored version of Coca-Cola, introduced in 2002 but subsequently discontinued in North America and the United Kingdom in 2005, though it remained available at certain fountain outlets. It was relaunched in the US in 2007, in Denmark in 2012, the UK in 2013 and Canada in 2016. Vanilla Coke has been available in Australia since its initial introduction in 2002, being produced by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. Originally announced as a limited edition in the UK, it became permanent for several years; however, Vanilla Coke was again discontinued in the UK in Summer 2018, though Diet Vanilla Coke and Coke Vanilla Zero remain available.
New Coke was the unofficial name of a reformulation of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in April 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990, and discontinued in July 2002.
Crystal Pepsi is a cola soft drink made by PepsiCo. It was initially released in the United States and Canada from 1992 to 1994. It was briefly sold in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Tab was a diet cola soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company, introduced in 1963 and discontinued in 2020. The company's first diet drink, Tab was popular among some people throughout the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to Coca-Cola. Several variations were made, including a number of fruit-flavored, root beer, and ginger ale versions. Caffeine-free and clear variations were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Coca-Cola C2 was a cola-flavored beverage produced in response to the low-carbohydrate diet trend. This Coke product was marketed as having half the carbohydrates, sugars and calories compared to standard Coca-Cola. It contained aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose in addition to the high fructose corn syrup typically found in cola beverages distributed in America.
Thums Up is a brand of cola. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the withdrawal of The Coca-Cola Company from India. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to compete against Pepsi to capture the market.
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a component of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.
OK Soda is a discontinued soft drink created in 1993 that courted the American Generation X demographic with unusual advertising tactics, including neo-noir design, chain letters and deliberately negative publicity. After the soda did not sell well in select test markets, it was officially declared out of production in 1995 before reaching nationwide distribution. The drink's slogan was "Things are going to be OK."
Pepsi Stuff was a major loyalty program launched by PepsiCo, first in North America on March 28, 1996 and then around the world, featuring premiums — such as T-shirts, hats, denim and leather jackets, bags, and mountain bikes — that could be purchased with Pepsi Points through the Pepsi Stuff Catalog or online. Customers could acquire points from specially marked Pepsi packages and fountain cups. Additional points were sold both by Pepsi and by consumers, the latter mainly enabled by eBay. The first Pepsi Stuff promotion ended on October 31, 1996. It was relaunched 12 years later on February 1, 2008, ended on December 31, 2008, and was relaunched as Pepsi Pass in August 2015. Pepsi Stuff was relaunched on January 22, 2018 with retro editions of Pepsi, and ended on February 28, 2019.
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, commonly known as Coke Zero, is a diet soda produced by the Coca-Cola Company.
Energy Brands, also doing business as Glacéau, is a privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company based in Whitestone, Queens, New York, that manufactures and distributes various lines of drinks marketed as enhanced water. Founded in May 1996 by J. Darius Bikoff with an electrolyte enhanced line of water called Smartwater, Energy Brands initially distributed its products to health food stores and independent retailers in the New York area. Adding Fruitwater and Vitaminwater to its line in 1998 and 2000, respectively, the company expanded to nationwide distribution in the early 2000s.
Tab Clear was a variation of Tab. It is Coca-Cola's contribution to the short-lived "clear cola" movement during the early 1990s. It was introduced in the United States on December 14, 1992, in the United Kingdom a month later and in Japan in March 1993 to initially positive results. Tab Clear was, however, discontinued after only a short time of marketing in 1994. Unlike most other "clear" soft drinks, Tab Clear contained caffeine and, according to the company, had the flavor of cola.
Since its invention by John Stith Pemberton in 1886, criticisms of Coca-Cola as a product, and of the business practices of The Coca-Cola Company, have been significant. The Coca-Cola Company is the largest soft drink company in the world, distributing over 500 different products. Since the early 2000s, the criticism of the use of Coca-Cola products, as well as the company itself, escalated, with criticism leveled at the company over health effects, environmental issues, animal testing, economic business practices and employee issues. The Coca-Cola Company has been faced with multiple lawsuits concerning the various criticisms.
Pepsi Zero Sugar, is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, formerly ginseng-infused cola sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K, marketed by PepsiCo. It originally contained nearly twice the caffeine of Pepsi's other cola beverages. Before a recipe change in late 2022, Pepsi Zero Sugar contained 69 milligrams of caffeine per 355 mL (12.5 imp fl oz), versus 36 milligrams in Diet Pepsi. A new logo was introduced in 2020.
Alan Maxwell Pottasch was an American advertising executive and marketer best known for his five decades of work for PepsiCo. Specifically, Pottasch is best known as the creator behind the "Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign.
The Pepsi Generation, is the theme of an advertising campaign for Pepsi-Cola, a US brand of soft drink, that launched in 1963 as the result of a slogan contest. A new car was awarded to the writer of the winning slogan. The contest was the brainchild of Alan Pottasch, a PepsiCo advertising executive, and it was won by Appleton, Wisconsin resident, Ellen M. Reimer. Her slogan invited consumers to "Come Alive! You're the Pepsi Generation!" The original "Come Alive" jingle was performed by singer Joanie Sommers in her memorable "breathy" vocal style. As of 2024, this logo is still used on merchandising.
The Coca-Cola polar bears are fictional polar bears used as the mascots for the Coca-Cola Company. The animated characters have been a popular element in Coca-Cola advertising since 1993, and the company sells merchandise, such as tumblers and plush versions of the bears.
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