COLA WARS: Pepsi vs. Coke

Dateline: June 16, 1903: Pepsi -Cola was introduced as the new name of "Brad's Drink",  a carbonatedsoft drink named after the digestive enzyme pepsin and kola nuts used in the recipe that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. And then, there was the COLA WARS!

The original trademark application for Pepsi-Cola was filed on September 23, 1902 with registration approved on June 16, 1903. In the application's statement, Caleb Bradham describes the trademark as an "arbitrary hyphenated word "PEPSI-COLA", and indicated that the mark was in continuous use for his business since August 1, 1901. The Pepsi-Cola's description is a flavoring-syrup for soda water. The trademark expired on April 15, 1994

On May 8th 1886, a Dr John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist, gave birth to the Cola Wars when he made a new syrup for the original Coca Cola and sold it down the road at Jacobs pharmacy. It was many years before it became the enormously powerful brand it is today.Meanwhile in 1898, over in New Bern, North Carolina, Pepsi was invented by another pharmacist Caleb Bradham under the name "Brad's Drink". Again it was aimed at a market looking for a refreshing drink that had some beneficial effects. The logos at this point are strikingly similar, to the point of Pepsi’s looking remarkably like a copy of Coke’s.

The Cola Wars are the mutually-targeted television advertisements and marketing campaigns since the 1880s between soft drink manufacturers

Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Incorporated. At present, Pepsi was knocked to third place behind Coca Cola and Diet Coke, Diet Coke outsold Pepsi in 2010. Coca Cola sold 1.6 billion cases of its regular soda and 927 million cases of its diet soda, while Pepsi sold only 892 million cases

Taste is important but not as important as the product’s identity, to which consumers had familial attachment.Sip tests, where testers drink only small quantities of a product, often produce diametrically different results to home-use tests. While many people will prefer a sweeter drink when just having a small amount they will find such drinks too sweet when drunk in any quantity. The tests also fail to take into account something called “sensation transference” which is when testers attribute their emotional attachment to a product to the taste of the product.

Branding is not about logos, it’s about the consistent delivery of values to allow you to gain a feeling or emotion from it. The logo is only the symbol to show you have arrived at that branded experienceThe logo is therefore not the most important element of any brand, it’s the continual reinforcement of those values.. Products  have come to being their own entity.

The Cola Wars still rage for over more than one century  and still trying to take your mouth hostage. Try as they may, Pepsi was from the start was a Coke knock-off.   Recipes have changed and spawned different brands for the ultimate supremacy to be the Cola King of the world. There is one front that Pepsi has never won and can’t win. The image of Coke has not changed much since 1885. They remain true to their first logo and have not changed much , Pepsi on the other hand has metamorphosed so many times looking for an identity. Lines are drawn by sensitive  taste buds but the face of Coke has not changed for 126 years. Not too many companies are able to keep a consistent corporate image for that long and remain on top of the game.  

Most analysts say that Pepsi’s mistake has been that by constantly changing the logo, they have changed the symbol of arrival. As such, every time they change it, they create a level of uncertainty in a potential customer, rather like going into a pub or office you don’t know, that it may not be to your taste. You will naturally ask yourself ‘Will it be the Pepsi I know? Or have they changed it to make it more relevant to a new more exciting and younger audience? On the other hand, what Coca Cola has done  is to   continue to build on their original values. The logo has evolved, but never changed so radically that it will lose its connection with the previous generation. Because of this brand continuity, Coca Cola will always mean something similar to each of us.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola focused particularly on pop stars; notable soft drink promoters included Mariah Carey, KISS, Tina Turner, Britney Spears, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Jim Varney Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Ray Charles (for Pepsi) and Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Weird Al Yankovic, George Michael, Christina Aguilera, Max Headroom, and Elton John (for Coca-Cola).

 The following chart lists these competitors by type or flavor of drink.

Flavor/type	PepsiCo	The Coca-Cola Company
Cola	Pepsi	Coca-Cola
Diet Cola	Diet Pepsi / Pepsi Light Pepsi ONE Pepsi Max	Diet Coke / Coca-Cola Light Tab Coca-Cola Zero
Cherry-flavored cola	Pepsi Wild Cherry	Coca-Cola Cherry
"Pepper"-style	Dr Slice	Mr. Pibb / Pibb Xtra
Orange	Mirinda Tropicana Twister Tango Slice	Fanta Minute Maid
Lemon-lime	Teem Sierra Mist 7 Up (in countries other than US)	Sprite Lemon & Paeroa
Other citrus flavors	Mountain Dew Kas Izze	Mello Yello Vault Fresca Lift Lilt
Ginger ale	Patio	Seagram's Ginger Ale
Root beer	Mug Root Beer	Barq's Ramblin' Root Beer (until 1995)
Cream soda	Mug Cream Soda	Barq's Red Creme Soda
Juices	Tropicana Dole (prepackaged only, under license)	Minute Maid Fruitopia Simply Orange
Iced tea	Lipton (ready-to-drink products only, under license from Unilever)	Nestea (manufactured by Nestlé in the US and by a joint venture between Nestlé and Coca-Cola elsewhere
Sports drinks	Gatorade Propel	Powerade Aquarius Relentless