Coke vs Pepsi, Part 1

I dedicate this post to one friend of mine! Obviously I am writing it in English because my friend still doesn’t have fully comprehension in Spanish. This one goes to you Percin 😉

I take this opportunity to talk about the famous rivalry of Pepsi Cola and Coke. Knowing that this rivalry can take lot’s of interest I have decided to separate this discussion into 2 posts. This part 1 of the discussion is just to introduce few details about the giants of marketing.

It is true that most of the people are divided between Coke and Pepsi. Hereby I let you know there’s been a constant war to reach the top and become the most popular drink purchased of all time.

When it was first introduced back in 1886, Coke didn’t have many opponents in the cola drink market. That until 1898 when Pepsi was released and the rivalry between these two exploded, making the need for brand positioning really urgent for both

Since both were developed and introduced by pharmacists, they claimed that both drinks had medicinal properties. Coke’s 1900 slogan was «For headache and exhaustion, drink Coca-Cola», while Pepsi’s 1903 slogan was «Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion». In 1929, Pepsi claimed: «Here’s Health!”

Coke has been selling a «refreshing» and «satisfying» image for a longer time than Pepsi. Here’s a quick list of slogans that remind us a lot of those we see today:

v  1904 – Coca-Cola satisfies

v  1904 – Delicious and Refreshing

v  1905 – Good all the way down

v  1906 – Thirst quenching – delicious and refreshing

v  1907 – Cooling… refreshing… delicious

v  1909 – Delicious, wholesome, refreshing

v  1909 – Delicious, wholesome, thirst quenching

v  1909 – Drink delicious Coca-Cola

In the other hand, Pepsi tried to show that their drink was better for small pockets, having more ounces of drink available in each bottle. Take a look:

v  1934 – Double Size

v  1939 – Twice as Much for a Nickel

v  1943 – Bigger Drink, Better Taste

v  1949 – Why Take Less When Pepsi’s Best?

This war hasn’t stop yet and has grown into something bigger. This facts are just simple examples of what market rivalry can become into.

Hope you enjoyed this first part of the discussion. It won’t be long for the next one.

Stay tune my friends.