Cola wars

The Cola wars are the long-time rivalry between soft drink producers The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, who have engaged in mutually targeted marketing campaigns for the direct competition between each company's product lines, especially their flagship colas, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Beginning in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the competition escalated until it became known as the cola wars.[1][2]

History

In 1885, John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist from Columbus, Georgia, developed the original recipe for Coca-Cola. By 1888, control of the recipe was acquired by Asa Griggs Candler, who founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1896.[3][1] Two years later in 1898 in New Bern, North Carolina, Caleb Bradham renamed his "Brad's Drink" to "Pepsi-Cola," and founded the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1902.[4]

The two companies introduced advertising techniques, such as Coke's first celebrity endorsement and its 1915 contour bottle. However, market instability following World War I forced Pepsi to declare bankruptcy in 1923. In 1931, Pepsi went bankrupt once more, but recovered and began selling its products at 5 cents per bottle, helping them remain competitive in the market.[5]

Advertising strategies

Comparison of products

Many of the brands available from the three largest soda producers, The Coca-Cola Company,[22] PepsiCo[23] and Keurig Dr Pepper, compete directly within similar categories of soft drinks. The following chart lists these competitors by type or flavor of drink.

In popular culture

It was announced in September 2024 that Judd Apatow would be directing a film based on the cola wars for Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, with Steven Spielberg as producer.[26][27][28][29]

See also

• Browser wars
• Burger wars
• Chicken sandwich wars
• Coffee wars
• Console wars
• Format wars
• Smartphone wars
• Tar derby