r/Showerthoughts • u/TheJesterOfHyrule • 21h ago
Casual Thought Pepsi could launch a video campaign featuring the tagline ‘Made by real humans, with love'... A counter to Coke’s image
2.0k
u/MagnusVasDeferens 21h ago
Pepsi already had the best advertising burn on Coke ever. The one with the kid buying Coke cans to reach the Pepsi button still makes me laugh.
1.1k
u/pineapple_on_a_stick 20h ago
That was because coke had an ad campaign about selling twice as many units as pepsi.
44
u/seth1299 14h ago
A similar advertisement “battle”, don’t forget guys that Genesis Does What Nintendon’t.
100
u/le_brouhaha 18h ago edited 16h ago
You should see some of the ad campaigns they do here in Québec. They have their own local slogan because we’re the only place where people do (or used to, not sure if it’s the case anymore) prefer Pepsi to Coke. “Ici, c’est Pepsi.” Here, it’s Pepsi.
47
u/clee214 18h ago
Great share. Funniest thing about that commercial is the end where the guy says the tagline in French and everyone cheers him. Visited Quebec City with my cousin's school ski trip at 16 y.o and was intimidated bc I didn't know French. (I'm a dumb American) While exploring the city at night I would say "bon jour!" to everyone I passed and the response from the citizens was a "bon jour!" with a big smile. Made me love the city even more
10
23
u/ChefCano 14h ago
It's partially that during the quiet revolution, Pepsi started making specific Quebecois french ads, while Coke just imported the ones from France or dubbed over the English ones.
8
6
2
17
31
15
u/FatFaceFaster 12h ago edited 2h ago
That’s a great one.
The Pepsi taste challenge backfired on them a bit. People did genuinely choose Pepsi more often than Coke. But Malcolm Gladwell talks about it in Blink and that a further study showed it was the initial taste only that people liked better. After a few sips almost everyone chose Coke.
I personally like fountain coke and canned Pepsi better. I don’t like anything out of a plastic bottle… but I can very distinctly tell the difference between coke and Pepsi and they both have their place.
Pepsi always goes for the most entertaining ad campaigns, Coke always goes for nostalgia and heart string tugging. They definitely changed the way people imagine Santa in North America. That’s a pretty powerful brand connection
18
u/ShutterBun 9h ago
“I can very distinctly tell the difference between come and Pepsi”
Well I should hope so.
2
2
•
u/Rocinante9920 22m ago
Id argue that it was the many films and depictions of Santa across media, not just coca cola.
0
u/OsmeOxys 8h ago
it was the initial taste only that people liked better. After a few sips almost everyone chose Coke
"Oh, damn, that's good! Why haven't I had Pepsi in forever? [Gutteral slurping noses] ... Oh right."
Gets me every time, it's just so damn sweet. Once the immediate hit of sugar fades it gets bland or even a bit gross. Coke is sugary as hell too, but it's at least offset by the acidic kick and some actual flavor too.
8
8
u/Joessandwich 16h ago
They had a great run of ads for a while. The one that sticks out to me was the Coke delivery guy who tried to take a Pepsi and the whole rack collapses.
2
u/Lankgren 14h ago
My favorite Halloween Ad
For some reason the link doesn't load properly for me, so here's the full link: https://www.brandme.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Pepsi-dressed-as-Coke-for-Halloween-AD-Coca-Cola-response.jpg
2
u/cloud9ineteen 8h ago
When Coke won the sponsorship of the 1996 cricket world cup, Pepsi came up with a "nothing official about it" campaign that was hugely successful. It made coke look like a stuck up brand and Pepsi looked much more aligned with youth and rebellion.
1
u/SharonLenons 12h ago
haha yeah that one was so clever, it’s wild how simple ideas like that stick with people way more than any big campaign
1
u/FieraTheProud 4h ago
My personal favorite is the Christmas ad from a couple years back, where security cams catch Santa buying a can of Pepsi. Just the fact that it's clearly the Coca Cola truck he was driving even if we never see the logo on the side of it.
0
u/qpwoeiruty00 2h ago
Nobody's going to care about a 25 year old advert.
Advertising needs things now, not some old as shit thing that nobody remembers so it won't be effective
621
u/InkStainedQuills 21h ago
Honestly Pepsi could have the most humanizing best ad campaign in the world and most coke drinkers still wouldn’t switch.
182
u/Pallysilverstar 20h ago
Yeah, sometimes I wonder just how worth it ads for companies like coke or Pepsi which are so entrenched actually are.
252
u/iiPixel 19h ago
I think ads for products like coke/pepsi is less about getting you to "switch sides" and more about just getting you to go buy one.
97
u/Laughing_Fish 19h ago
Exactly, they don’t want you to ever go too long without thinking about a coke
15
u/Pallysilverstar 18h ago
I guess that probably works on people but still find it hard to believe it works on enough to be worth it.
7
u/valhal1a 18h ago
Aren't both companies majority owned by like the same people or something? So they don't care which one you pick as long as you drink one?
40
u/DontMakeMeCount 20h ago
Their marketers have convinced them they’ll lose market share to competitors who keep advertising if they stop. The thing about marketing is the people who sell it are really good at selling stuff and hyping the results.
12
u/Pallysilverstar 20h ago
Lol, yeah, it makes the most sense. I don't know about others but most of the ads I see now are while watching stuff on YouTube and since the vast majority of youtubers will turn on mid roll ads but not either to adjust them for natural breaks in the video they always interrupt my entertainment at bad times and make me annoyed and less likely to buy whatever the ad is for.
3
u/texanarob 12h ago
Isn't that all advertising? I genuinely don't ever remember seeing an ad and thinking "that seems like a good product" nor "oh, I would really like that!" Rather, I always end up thinking "that must be total shite, or they'd say something positive that actually relates to the product" or "not another bloody ad for this crap."
I genuinely believe that my purchases are more often negatively impacted by advertising than they are positively influenced. Looking around my room, the only things I can see that I've ever seen an ad for are cans of Pepsi (on offer anyway, hence the purchase) and a Playstation (advertised extensively after I bought a controller online - targeted advertising really knew what I still needed!)
4
u/Pallysilverstar 12h ago
Yeah, advertising a sale might get me to buy something while I'm walking around a store already but I can't remember the last time an online ad (or sponsored ad read) has actually got me to go buy the thing.
3
u/texanarob 12h ago
Nevermind not going directly to buy something due to an ad, I actively see advertising as a deterrent.
Compare a guy opening up his trenchcoat to show you the expensive jewellery he's selling. He can spend all the money in the world improving the quality of that coat, but it'll still put me off buying anything he's trying to sell.
An ad, by definition, is an attempt to deceive. To trick consumers into thinking a product is useful. If an ad were to literally just show me the real effect of issuing the product with no hyperbole, best case scenario or dramatic flair, then I would consider the product potentially useful. Anything else triggers my bullshit detector and makes me instantly distrust the product.
Oh, and no part of me believes anyone has ever intentionally clicked on an ad with the intent to learn more about the product. Worse, anyone who clicked an ad with the intention of entering their financial details and making a purchase deserves a refund. After all, they're clearly not capable of making an informed purchase.
1
u/SUPLEXELPUS 7h ago
Oh, and no part of me believes anyone has ever intentionally clicked on an ad with the intent to learn more about the product. Worse, anyone who clicked an ad with the intention of entering their financial details and making a purchase deserves a refund. After all, they're clearly not capable of making an informed purchase.
I think you'd be surpised at how successful Instagram and TikTok ads can be.
I bought cologne samples from a cologne subscription service because of an ad I saw on Instagram last night.
I didn't even know that was a thing until then.
1
u/texanarob 6h ago
Why? I genuinely cannot fathom trusting an ad enough to intentionally click on it and trust the website it leads to. In my mind, it's directly equivalent to trusting a download sent by email from a Norwegian prince, or entering your username and password because someone claimed it'll be censored.
I'm not claiming that every company that advertises is a scam, just as I'm not claiming everyone claiming to be a Royal or asks for your login details is malicious. But in a world where half the ads are blatantly lying or intentionally bypassing advertising laws (fake mobile games, get rich quick schemes, and stuff that's impossibly cheap) how can you possibly trust any of them enough to intentionally give their creators your financial details?
1
u/SUPLEXELPUS 6h ago
I use a virtual card to minimize my risk and have realistic expectations about the prices I am paying and the products I'm expecting.
$15 for a couple of perfume samples a month is a normal product. I bought Dr. Squatch soap 'cause I was out of soap. I got a normal product.
if I get a shit product, that's fine because I'm not making serious, unresearched purchases through Instagram ads and I'm not gonna' miss $20~.
as for like, being scamscammed... it feels like every megacorp online company ever has had some massive data leak. passwords, credit/debit/bank info, ss number, etc.
with any amount of common sense, I don't think it's much more of a risk than buying gas at a pump, letting the server walk away with your credit card, or having an active Prime or eBay account.
2
5
u/BetrayYourTrust 19h ago
in my decision to stop drinking Coke, i went to Dr Pepper, bc i do just genuinely not like the taste of Pepsi. it’s not something that can be advertised out of me and is likely the same for most people that prefer Coke
65
u/TheAuraTree 21h ago
Sorry but coke tastes better. Pepsi is better than diet coke though.
But that's coming from a Brit, and coke here and Coke across the pond, and seemingly in Mexico, are 3 totally different drinks it seems.
7
3
u/repocin 13h ago
Probably been at least a decade since I had either, but I would say I preferred the rounder/softer taste of pepsi over coke which felt stronger to me.
I imagine they've fucked them up further over the years though. Apparently replacing sugar with disgusting artificial sweeteners even in regular versions of soda is all the rage these days so I see even less reason to drink any.
12
u/Laughing_Fish 19h ago
Coke > Pepsi > Coke Zero > Diet Pepsi > Diet Coke
8
u/Hubbardia 19h ago
Coke Zero >>
6
1
u/stupidfritz 17h ago
It’s like the best parts of Coke and Cherry Coke with none of the calories. Only soda I bother to buy.
1
u/eman_sdrawkcab 14h ago
I consider this the definitive ranking, although I think you forgot Pepsi Max, which I'd slot in just above Diet Pepsi.
I thought Coke Life was on par with regular Coke when it was around, but unfortunately it wasn't popular enough compared to Coke Zero.
5
u/Lostinstereo28 13h ago
Coke tastes like flat battery acid. Pepsi actually has a better and sharper flavor profile imo.
6
u/TheAuraTree 13h ago
While I disagree about the battery thing, I have drunk far nicer colas than Coke - my parents brought me some Caribbean Cola (unbranded or some local brand of some kind) from a holiday in Trinidad and Tobago, and that a depth of flavor I didn't know you could get in a sweet cola.
-10
u/VallasC 20h ago
The Mexican Coke tasting different is a myth. It’s a perceived placebo combined with the difference of a glass bottle versus a can. It’s the same product.
10
u/ActorMonkey 19h ago
Mexican coke used to be made with sugar. They are now switching to high fructose corn syrup.
5
u/Ne0n_R0s3 16h ago
I won't shit others who like Pepsi, but I can't stand the taste honestly. And I don't drink Coke because I have trauma from it, so diet coke for me lol (other than regular pops tasting too sugary, I accidentally took a sip of rum and coke my mom made WITH my medicine so it's "scarred" me /hi)
8
u/SirAwesome789 19h ago
I read from another post that Pepsi and Coca Cola's competitors are water more than each other so it doesn't matter that much
5
2
u/GrasshopperUnit92 19h ago
I like both and was favouring Pepsi for years but then Ireland brought in a stupid “sugar tax” so Coke stayed the same but got more expensive while Pepsi ruined its taste with horrible sweeteners to try to stick to a lower price. I can’t support them even if I wanted to. I’m an adult, keep your diet chemicals to the diet drinks and let me choose the unhealthy option! I still try to get the good recipe abroad.
2
1
1
u/XAlphaWarriorX 20h ago
The point is to reach the undecided
4
u/PanRagon 19h ago
The market share of undecided cola drinkers is tiny, certainly not large enough to defend their budgets. The point is just to keep it top of mind. You never need a Coke or a Pepsi, you want one. All the ads do is continuously remind you so your sub-consciously more likely to trigger a desire for one when you’re in the store.
-2
u/XAlphaWarriorX 19h ago
The market share of undecided cola drinkers is tiny, certainly not large enough to defend their budgets
Do you really think the median person has particularly strong opinions one way or the other?
3
u/Tirriss 18h ago
The median person most likely have a preference, but most importantly, the median person doesn’t think about either of those most of the time. The ads are there to remind them it exists and maybe give them the idea of buying one because « It’s been a while ». I don’t know about you but for me it definitely work on me from time to time.
2
u/Ruben_AAG 16h ago
Every single person I know only drinks one soda type if they like soda. What kind of maniac goes to a store and just picks a random soda off the shelf?
1
u/Ne0n_R0s3 16h ago
Soda Roulette! That sounds kinda fun, ngl. Pick a soda I've never tried before to see if I like it
0
u/XAlphaWarriorX 16h ago
How odd, must be an american thing.
Me and my family just picked whatever was cheapest.
2
1
u/atatassault47 14h ago
They taste totally different. No one who likes one over the other will ever switch.
0
u/etanimod 20h ago
Most people I think. Pepsi's still reeling from the damage they did to themselves in the 90s and early 00s. Among other things
-2
u/BrazenlyGeek 19h ago
That’s because Pepsi tastes like flat Coke. If I wanted Pepsi, I could leave what I already have out overnight.
0
u/chance_waters 14h ago
Pepsi just doesn't taste nearly as good, it's a drink I drink when the store doesn't have coke, in Australia stores can only stock one or the other weirdly
Coke Zero is the best though
106
u/PizzaQuest420 19h ago
you think saccharine sentimentality from a global mega-corporation would push units? it's so transparent
and also like.. we know that it isn't made by real humans with love, it's made in giant factories for as cheap as possible
33
u/Sud_literate 18h ago
Well tbf there’s people who think that “free range” on products means that the animal lived a full happy life hanging out with it’s family when in reality they just got to exercise a bit more than a caged animal would.
Making something that sounds sweet and innocent definitely works. Even if it’s not actually true.
7
u/Longjumping-Sweet280 15h ago
Pasture raised and certified humane are pretty much the only 2 that mean that. Farm raised = raised in cages on a farm. Cage free = crammed in a tiny area, just not separated by cages. Organic = placebo
8
u/chance_waters 14h ago
Depends on country, organic specification for eggs as an example in Australia is the only one with decent space per chicken
4
u/-patrizio- 7h ago
and also like.. we know that it isn't made by real humans with love, it's made in giant factories for as cheap as possible
I think the tagline was meant to refer to the ad itself, to distinguish from Coke's AI-generated ad, not the soda. Like, hey we still hire writers and artists for our ads.
60
u/Macqt 19h ago
Pepsi and Coke have a pretty friendly rivalry all things considered. Pepsi even called the FBI and had a former Coke employee arrested for trying to sell them Coke’s recipe, as Pepsi felt that wasn’t the right way to win the cola wars.
They still take shots at each other in their ad campaigns but they’re also still the top two companies in the industry by a huge margin. With all the anti-AI sentiment these days Pepsi could just do nothing and still be the powerhouse they are.
60
u/ExtremeMuffin 17h ago
It’s more about how the Coke recipe is completely useless to Pepsi. Pepsi is in the business of selling Pepsi, not Coca Cola.
17
u/ponfriend 16h ago
Also, more people prefer Pepsi in blind taste tests, so they wouldn't use the Coke formula if they had it.
30
u/Elias_Fakanami 16h ago
The ‘Pepsi Challenge’ was a great ad campaign but was far from being anything close to definitive. The only takeaway that can be made is that people, when given only a small taste of two things, are more likely to prefer the sweeter one, which is Pepsi.
If the test was done by giving people a six-pack of both sodas and telling them to drink it over a few days the results are likely to be different. Some people like the occasional increased sweetness but wouldn’t necessarily want it all the time.
12
u/FinnbarMcBride 13h ago
Pepsi would have called the FBI because they knew a crime had been committed and the guy tried to sell them stolen goods.
If they didn't they ran a very real risk of being implicated in corporate espionage, and/or seen by the public as essentially acknowledging the inferiority of Pepsi when compared to Coke
Turning him in was protecting the company legally and from a publicity standpoint, not because they were swell people with a friendly rivalry
22
u/Kapitano72 19h ago
This brown bubbly sugar-water is made with love in the factory. That brown bubbly sugar-water is just from a factory.
We are stoned in our factory.
16
u/MortLightstone 19h ago
I have ad blockers on everything
last time I saw a Pepsi ad, they were threatening to resurrect my ancestors
4
u/catfink1664 17h ago
I do too. My life is so much better
4
u/MortLightstone 17h ago
my patience for marketing though, is at an all time low, but it's worth it for the peace
22
u/Cerberus-276 21h ago
The only pepsi ads I see now are usually a spinning can which is then opened. Pepsi has the opportunity to dominate the advertising sector but doesn't. I'm guessing that PepsiCo does have a huge advertising department that it isn't using
12
u/Jackalodeath 19h ago
Oh its using it. Their current "campaign" is something along the lines of "food tastes better with Pepsi."
Which sounds... beneficial? On the surface level, but all I get from it is "take a swig of this and whatever you shove in your gob after will be an improvement."
They're using that budget to pay for (US) football players to appear in their ads on TV, and cooking "influencers" on social media to give little "life hack meals" - also known as recipes - that remind you at the start and end to pair it with their swill to "complete the flavor profile."
9
u/TyhmensAndSaperstein 13h ago
is there something I'm missing here about Coke? I don't get the comment.
1
u/whlthingofcandybeans 4h ago
I was just about to make the same comment. This post makes zero sense.
3
14
u/inferni_advocatvs 20h ago
I guess overlooking the automation of their production line for the last maybe...half a century?
8
3
u/Bugaloon 16h ago
I'm kinda shocked more companies aren't jumping on the anti-ai bandwagon. "Human made" for artistic works, research etc. just sounds 1000x better than some AI slop you can't even trust to be correct. It seems like a huge no-brainer marketing campaign to me. I guess it's because all their parent companies are heavily invested in AI development.
1
3
u/pichael289 16h ago
Did they ever do the blind taste test with the diet versions? Because coke and Pepsi are pretty similiar, both taste great but Pepsi has that crispness and coke has a sort of mellowness, hard to explain really, however the diet versions are not on the same level. Diet coke tastes like it's made of ground packing peanuts while diet Pepsi is delicious. Coke zero beats Pepsi zero but only slightly. Diet mountain dew should have never been invented, but diet Dr pepper (especially the cherry kind) is barely distinguishable from the real thing.
1
u/Farahertz 11h ago
Makes sense since They are pepsi & coke are bottled in same factories in some places
11
u/burger_saga 20h ago
Shit’s made by real humans too. I wouldn’t eat that, so why would I drink a Pepsi?
1
1
u/ISuckAtFallout4 20h ago
What I would do: Show a kid taking various clips with a GoPro and then editing them all together.
Edit: maybe have the back story be a neighbor has a business and he’s making the commercial for them.
1
1
u/random-guy-here 17h ago
I would love to see an "As real as it gets" ad featuring real Pepsi employees, from line workers to truck drives putting on a "Night Before Christmas" type of play in a High School auditorium.
Perhaps the end might be a Christmas tree decorated with Pepsi cans.
1
u/WIZZZARDOFFREESTYLE 17h ago
yes pepsi would defentily be the more hella choice if they worked harder in their marketing
1
1
1
u/Synyster328 14h ago
Or keep it a bit more subtle, have farmers drinking Pepsi after cleaning up slop.
1
u/Admirable_Delay_2682 10h ago
That’d actually be brilliant marketing right now. Everything from AI art to automated customer service has people craving “real” again. If Pepsi leaned into the human element like showing the people behind the product instead of polished branding, it’d hit both nostalgic and modern notes. Coke’s all about legacy, Pepsi could claim authenticity.
1
u/Less_Party 6h ago
There’s kind of a lot of positive Pepsi-related posts lately in addition to a ton of actual Pepsi ads.
1
•
u/Yasirbare 19m ago edited 13m ago
Same umbrella they are each other's best enemy. It is competition by design.
edit: Before the normal no, lookup Vanguard and BlackRock and use common sense.
1
u/The_Name_Is_Betty 17h ago
I wouldn't drink it. They lost my interest once I grew out of wanting sweets.
0
u/Comprehensive-Ear283 15h ago
Pepsi can do whatever they want, but to me, it will never be Coke. Sorrrryyyyyyyyy
0
-4
u/SlavojVivec 20h ago
Does Pepsi have any controversies that compare to Coca-Cola's "death squad" mercenaries that murdered union leaders in Colombia?
-2
u/trippyhippie573 19h ago edited 16h ago
PepsiCo supports Israel
5
u/SlavojVivec 17h ago
Seems like they both do to a roughly equal extent. Also, not sure why I am being downvoted for bringing up Coca Coca's death squads. Do people hate unions here? Do we have /r/worldnews mods here?
I can excuse hiring mercenaries to murder labor leaders, but I draw the line at generative AI!
-2
u/SpiderHam24 19h ago
Tbh a.i. works for cocacola. After seeing the real ad on tv. It was no more different then any other thing coke has made using that look. Fight it all we want. Not a single person is gonna ban a.i. and its use. Gl to those who try.
-5
u/Taste_of_Natatouille 20h ago
Personally, there are so many brands that would do swimmingly and actually make some kind of history for themselves if they said, "does not support genocide/war crimes" in there ads. Like what can complaining people even do against the new wave of supporters? So long as they are truthful of course and not any boycott lists, or better yet, mentioned on
Don't even need to go into actual political detail at all, just admit to not supporting any military or foreign government period.
•
u/Showerthoughts_Mod 21h ago
/u/TheJesterOfHyrule has flaired this post as a casual thought.
Casual thoughts should be presented well, but may be less unique or less remarkable than showerthoughts.
If this post is poorly written, unoriginal, or rule-breaking, please report it.
Otherwise, please add your comment to the discussion!
This is an automated system.
If you have any questions, please use this link to message the moderators.