Essay on The Cola Wars: Pepsi vs Coke

Fast forward to the 1970s when Coca‑Cola’s advertising started to reflect a brand connected with fun, friends and good times. Many fondly remember the 1971 Hilltop Singers performing “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”, or the 1979 “Have a Coke and a Smile” commercial featuring a young fan giving Pittsburgh Steeler, “Mean Joe Greene”, a refreshing bottle of Coca‑Cola. You can enjoy these and many more advertising campaigns from around the world in the Perfect Pauses Theater at the World of

During the “Pepsi Challenge,” the person would prefer one product to the other. In the late 1990s, “Pepsi launched its most successful long-term strategy of the Cola Wars, Pepsi Stuff.” The Consumers were “invited” to “Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff” by using codes on cans and bottle caps to redeem points for free Pepsi lifestyle merchandise. The battle continues today “as they battle for brand supremacy…through advertisements, slogans, and celebrity endorsements.”

The revolution lead to a revolt as well as the rebirth of the old classic coke. Two new campaigns were introduced after the consumer crisis in 1985: the most popular Red White and You, pathetic appeal for Coca-Cola classic and the Catch the Wave for the new taste of coke (“The Real Story of New Coke”). During the summer, Coca- Cola announced the taste variance; frantic consumers purchased coke in bulk hoarding the remains in their homes while others formed protest bands with claims to having brought back the original formula. Coke’s prior history is significant because they used their short fall as a comeback. For instance if you fail a test but then study harder for the next one and receive a passing grade, you have redeemed yourself. Same with failing in an area of life there is still a chance reclaim the past downfall to enrich the future.

Over the last century, Coke and Pepsi have been waging war over the $74 billion carbonated soft drink industry in the United States. The degree of this competition has changed over the last decade as carbonated soft drink (CSD) consumption in America decreased to 46 gallons per year per person. To investigate these changes and evaluate the reasons why the industry has been so successful over the years, it is important to do an industry analysis looking at the different forces that affect both Coke and Pepsi as well as the changes in these forces and their effects on the industry competition.

Coca-Cola is a very recognizable company and is known worldwide for their logos and catchy Super Bowl ads. Coca-Cola advertisement campaigns have always been used in order to achieve specific goals. It is clear that the main objective of Coca-Cola Company as a business empire is to make profit but this brand has come under such scrutiny for their unhealthy ingredients over the years, yet they still produce television commercial ads such as the one in the UK called “Grandpa.” Looking over the history of this well-established brand, watching this specific media message, going over type of ingredients we are actually consuming, analyzing what this ad is trying to say versus what it is really saying, then we can also

In 1886 John Pemberton became addicted to opiates and sought to create a drink that had been mixed with with a pain killer to be sold as a soft drink that can cure all. Then a portion of prohibition came into that part of the country, so Pemberton was forced to make Coca-Cola without the painkilling portion of the famed drink. That’s when Coca-Cola was really made for the first time. Unfortunately Pemberton then sold the company for a measly $2300 to Asa Griggs Candler. Candler brought true ideas to the company, and that’s when the company took off. Then other brands came into the picture and Coke did not like this what-so-ever. They released the advertisement in Appendix A stating that “nicknames encourage substitution” (Zmuda). Then the market exploded and there were approximately 1,000 bottling companies by 1920 after only have two in 1900 (Creative). This was when Pepsi

It was 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, the Civil War was finally over and war veteran and pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton was about to create what would become the world’s most popular sparkling drink. (“Coca-Cola History” 1) Pemberton was looking to make a profit and, since the temperance movement prohibited alcohol, recognized that there was an increasingly large market for soda fountain drinks (“The Invention of Coca-Cola” 1). Making a syrup that he brought to local pharmacies to mix with carbonated water, he invented Coca-Cola. During its first year on the market Coca-Cola averaged about 9 servings a day in Atlanta; now, daily sales average about 1.9 billion a day, worldwide (“Coca-Cola History” 1) Much of this widespread success is due to the exceptionally affective Coca-Cola advertisements used throughout the years. Pemberton, though he could make a good drink, was dreadful with marketing and advertisements. However, he had business partner Frank M. Robinson to help. Robinson came up with both the first slogan, “The Pause That Refreshes,” and the idiosyncratic Coca-Cola script (“The Invention of Coca-Cola” 1). Similarly, the original glass Coca-Cola bottle was extremely unique and has become one that the general public is extremely familiar with; it has become a classic. Hence, the argument behind this “A Classic Never Goes Out of Style,” advertisement. The advertisement depicts the distinct Coca-Cola bottle with popular classic icons on it and the phrase “A Classic Never

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are two of the most popular drinks in the world. The strong competition between both began in the seventies and was even dubbed The “Cola Wars” and continues even to present day.

Over 100 years, intense rivalry between the two- Coke and Pepsi has totally shaped the soft drink industry of the world (combined they are 73% of the market share). The most battles of the cola wars were fought over the industry in the USA, where the consumption by an average American is 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks per year. In a competitive struggle, from 1975 to 1995 both had achieved average annual growth of around 10% because of increase in soft drink consumption consistently in US and worldwide. Then this cozy situation was threatened in the late 1990s, when the consumption dropped for two consecutive years and worldwide shipments slowed for both Coke and Pepsi.

Coca-Cola history began in 1886 when the curiosity of an Atlanta pharmacist, Dr. John S. Pemberton, led him to create a unique tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup, took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water. It was deemed “excellent” by those he had chose to sample it. Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “Coca Cola” as well as designing the trademarked, distinct script, which is still used today.

While Coca-Cola has always operated using a marketing strategy that was traditional and in line with their longstanding culture, Pepsi has taken a different approach, even attacking Coca-Cola. Pepsi has begun to market itself as “hip”, “fun”, and “social”. They are sponsoring music festivals and targeting the younger crowd. In essence, Pepsi is trying to create a “cool” culture. Since brand loyalty and customer retention play huge roles in the beverage industry, it is important for Pepsi to find their identity and stick with it to ensure lifelong customers.

Brands are a representation of the consumer 's thought and opinion about the performance of a product, and as a business owner, you might own the trademark, which identifies the brand, but consumers will help define your brand (Boykin (no date)). Brands can also be defined as a combination of a product name, trademark logo, unique packaging and design, but despite these features, a brand does not truly exist yet because the product has no history. Therefore, this essay examines how and why Coca Cola has dominated the soft drink industry for a long time compared to other producers and this explains how branding has influenced the consumers and their buying decision.

Coca Cola is one of the most successful companies in the world. A contribution to this success is the fact that the Coca Cola name is known worldwide. People are able to go hundreds of companies and see a coca cola beverage within that market. As per Sutton (2012) Coca Cola is successful because they pitch “happiness” something wanted by people of all ages (2012, para. 3). This leaves people

The Coca-Cola brand has always had a strong marketing advantage over their competitors. Whether it is the A-List celebrities they have in their ad campaigns, or just the sheer creativeness compared to others, it always seems to stand out. Although they have multiple ad campaigns each year, they all seem to follow the same pattern. It often seems that their marketing is geared towards the younger generation, whether that be the cans with the names on them, or even the sweepstake codes on the cans themselves. However, the actual advertising is to mostly target the older generation, who understands the actual meaning of the ad itself. For Industrial Marketing they try to convince other companies, such as vending machine vendors, local markets, and restaurants that Coca-Cola needs to be in their restaurant simply by showing how popular and strong of a brand they are, and the potential satisfied customers they could receive by serving Coca-Cola, instead of other soft drink brands.

Since its introduction in 1886, Coca-Cola has applied a multitude of global marketing strategies through their advertising campaigns to guarantee their dominant position in the marketplace. The current technology-driven lifestyle has led to an expansion of marketing techniques to keep up with the societal demands and trends worldwide. The introduction of a new marketing approach coalesces the various product offerings within the Coca-Cola product line under a single campaign.