... The End of Pepsi Ads

Pepsi have decided to stop advertising themselves. For good.

They held an odd press conference to announce this, where the CEO came out with some right strangeness.


Apparently it is ‘weird and desperate’ to put effort into telling people what to drink, and ‘if they don't like it, then they don't like it…. it's not really any of our business anyway.'


Surely this is the total opposite of what you should be saying as the owner of a massive company which tough competition from the Coca Cola brand. Actually, surely it’s the wrong attitude for anyone involved in marketing their product; surely you want your name out there, no?!


So Pepsi have decided to tell their stakeholders that they are now going to be a "what it should have been all along: a company that just makes soda, and doesn't get caught up in trying to make everyone like it." Obviously it raises questions on the whole Pepsi vs Coca Cola thing; how will they have a shot at getting ahead if they stop advertising altogether? Of course Pepsi were very blasé about this too, denying the existence of a ‘cola war’ and then actually endorsing their competitor saying they had a ‘terrific product’ and that the millions of people choosing it over their brand ‘couldn’t be wrong’…. Then they dismissed the concepts of right and wrong altogether. Very VERY odd behaviour, it reads as though they are having a bit of a piss-take with the press doesn’t it?


A right gem of a statement here: ‘we know it’s good, and everyone’s pretty happy with the overall taste, so why spend all our time worrying about what other people think?’: So you, the company behind the drink, like the taste… well there’s a good first step. Surely you want to encourage others to try it and like it too? Isn’t that the whole point of manufacturing a product and having it out there in the marketplace; this is madness!


So I reckon either sales will plummet as people slowly forget about this brand, proving that in a world of mass production you really do need a marketing presence… or this press conference itself could be seen as a marketing ploy where infact it has led to loads of free advertising for the product (maybe more likely?)


I just keep thinking about Scotland through all this; it’s the only country where another soft drink (Irn Bru) outsells Coca Cola. Yes they do advertise, but mostly in Scotland itself, and rather minimally. Mostly they rely on word of mouth, it being Scotland’s ‘other national drink’ and people being intrigued to try this nuclear orange drink. So although they don’t spend heaps on advertising, it appears it still works for em. But Pepsi isn’t exactly the national drink of any country I can think of, so only time will tell if it keeps selling as well! I would think that it still needs some form of marketing presence to keep it in the public conscience, no matter how small; Point of sale, sponsorships etc. But hey what do I know, only been in this biz a month…!

Remember guys: "You can't taste an ad, anyway."