History Of Pepsi-Cola And Its Advertising
History of Pepsi-Cola
Advertising as Weaponry
Pepsi has marked more than the Hundred Years War with no decisive victory in sight. But then, perhaps victory would spoil all the fun -- not to mention the price wars that frequently let thirsty consumers load up at grocery chains for less than 17 cents a can. If it were just a matter of stuffing cola into an endless procession of cans, the days at Purchase and Somers, N.Y. (home of the Pepsi division) would hold no intrigue. (Ellis, 1979).
Slogan Wizardry
For decades Pepsi has defined itself through the wizardry of the slogan, the jingle and the storyboard and all that a succession of four ad agencies has spun from them. One hundred years after New Bern, N.C., druggist Caleb Bradham called it Pepsi-Cola (actually, Caleb Cola would have had a nice ring and spared Mr. Bradham the necessity of buying out an existing trademark, Pep-Kola, for the princely sum of $100), this worldly and sophisticated company still succumbs to the temptation to see itself as the ``feisty newcomer'' struggling in the shadow of tradition and Americana cast by ``the competitor.'' (Martin, 1962)
Selling In Bottles
The demand, it turned out, was already there. The race was how to make enough Pepsi without going broke in the process. Spritzing it out of fountain dispensers didn't begin to do the job. So Mr. Bradham turned to selling it in bottles. Unfortunately, this required bottles, which were only beginning their evolution from hand-blown delicacies to mass-produced containers. It also required bottlers willing to invest capital in Mr. Bradham's beverage. With the fundamentals of manufacturing still untamed, building additional demand through advertising probably was the least of anyone's concerns. (Martin, 1962)
Manufacturing Crisis
Indeed, it was a crisis of manufacturing, not marketing, that would swallow Pepsi up in the first of a series of bankruptcies. Sugar shortages during World War I and a...
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