Pepsi Challenge

{{Short description|Marketing campaign, originally versus Coke taste test}}

The Pepsi Challenge is an ongoing marketing promotion run by PepsiCo since 1975. It is also the name of a cross country ski race at Giant's Ridge Ski Area in Biwabik, Minnesota, an event sponsored by Pepsi.{{cite web|title=The Pepsi Challenge Cup Cross Country Ski Race!|publisher=Pepsichallengeskirace.com|url=http://pepsichallengeskirace.com/pepsi.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203014443/http://pepsichallengeskirace.com/pepsi.php|archive-date=February 3, 2009|access-date=December 27, 2012}}

Method

File: Pepsi Challenge.jpg

The challenge originally took the form of a single blind taste test. At malls, shopping centers, and other public locations, a Pepsi representative set up a table with two white cups: one containing Pepsi and one with Coca-Cola.{{Cite web|last=Wei|first=Dominic Green, Will|title=We Recreated The Pepsi Challenge To See What People Really Like|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/pepsi-challenge-business-insider-2013-5|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=Business Insider}} Shoppers were encouraged to taste both colas and then select which drink they preferred. Then the representative revealed the two bottles so the taster can see whether they preferred Coke or Pepsi. The results of the test leaned toward a consensus that Pepsi was preferred by more Americans.{{cite web|title=Was the 'New Coke' Fiasco Just a Clever Marketing Ploy?|publisher = Snopes|author=Mikkelson, Barbara|url=http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/newcoke.asp|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=May 19, 1999|access-date=March 8, 2025|archive-date=March 22, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160322223033/http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/newcoke.asp}} The Pepsi Challenge has been featured in much of Pepsi's TV advertising.{{Cite web|last=Bold|first=Ben|date=|title=A brief history of the Coke vs. Pepsi wars|url=https://www.campaignlive.com/article/brief-history-coke-vs-pepsi-wars/1315959|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Campaign Live}}

History

The challenge launched in 1975, as part of the ongoing Cola wars between Pepsi and The Coca-Cola Company.{{Cite web|title=1975: Cola wars heat up with launch of Pepsi Challenge|url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/06/14/marketing-moment-75-cola-wars-heat-1975-launch-pepsi-challenge|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=The Drum|language=en}}File:CokePepsiChallenge.jpg pinback button, "I picked Coke in the Pepsi Challenge."]]

In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), author Malcolm Gladwell presents evidence that suggests Pepsi's success over Coca-Cola in the "Pepsi Challenge" is a result of the flawed nature of the "sip test" method.{{cite web|title = The Zen Of Choosing| publisher =Trust Me, I'm A Scientist| url = http://trustmeimascientist.com/2012/01/01/the-zen-art-of-choosing-speakers/}} His research shows that tasters will generally prefer the sweeter of two beverages based on a single sip, even if they prefer a less sweet beverage over the course of an entire can.{{Cite web|last=Yglesias|first=Matthew|date=August 9, 2013|title=How Coke Won the Cola Wars|url=https://slate.com/business/2013/08/pepsi-paradox-why-people-prefer-coke-even-though-pepsi-wins-in-taste-tests.html|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}} Additionally, the challenge more often than not labeled the Pepsi cup with an "M" and the Coca-Cola cup with a "Q," suggesting letter preference may drive some of the results.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/06/14/marketing-moment-75-cola-wars-heat-1975-launch-pepsi-challenge|title=1975: Cola wars heat up with launch of Pepsi Challenge}} Donald M. Kendall of Pepsi promoted the Pepsi Challenge.

When the preference in blind tests is compared to tests wherein cups are labeled with arbitrary labels (e.g., S or L) or brand names, the ratings of preference change.Woolfolk, Castellan, Brooks Scientific findings do support a perceptible difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, but not between Pepsi and RC Cola.Pronko, Herman

In his book Bad Habits, humorist Dave Barry describes the Pepsi challenge as, "Pepsi’s ongoing misguided attempt to convince the general public that Coke and Pepsi are not the same thing, which of course they are."Barry, Dave. Bad Habits, pp. 75, c.1985, Holt & Co.

In 2015, Pepsi re-launched the Pepsi Challenge on social media.{{Cite news|last1=Ember|first1=Sydney|last2=Steel|first2=Emily|date=March 11, 2015|title=The Pepsi Challenge Is Returning, but This Time for the Social Media Generation|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/business/media/the-pepsi-challenge-is-returning-but-this-time-for-the-social-media-generation.html|access-date=August 29, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} As part of this year long promotion, Pepsi signed various celebrity ambassadors to advertise their product on their social media accounts under the hashtag #PepsiChallenge.{{Cite web|title=Pepsi Challenge Returns With a Bubbly Twist|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/pepsi-challenge-returns-bubbly-twist/story?id=29552172|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=ABC News|language=en}}

In 2025, Pepsi said that they were going to revive the Pepsi Challenge again, starting with New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. In March, they'll start a nationwide campaign in major cities like Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston. However, instead of the originals, the Challenge will include sugar-free variations of the two drinks: Pepsi Zero Sugar and Coca Cola Zero Sugar.

Contest

In 1981, Pepsi ran a "Pepsi Challenge Payoff" contest that would hand out a large prize to anyone who could gather Pepsi bottle caps that spelled out the word “Challenge".{{cite magazine |last=Kanner |first=Bernice |title=Coke vs. Pepsi: The Battle of the Bubbled |date=October 5, 1981 |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuYCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22In+one+under-the-cap+promotion,+consumers+try+to+collect+caps+to+spell+out+Pepsi+Challenge%22&pg=PA25|magazine=New York Magazine|publisher=New York Media, LLC |access-date=October 13, 2016}}

Pepsi Challenge

Method

History

Contest

See also

References

Further reading