21.09.2007
Pepsi Wears Red in China
For many consumers, each side of the Cola War has its specific color: The can of Coca Cola is always red, the Pepsi can is blue, which makes it easy to recognize your favorite brand even in countries where you can not read the local writing style, such as China: Pepsi enthusiasts will chose the blue can while Coca Cola aficionados will take the red one.
But just in China, Pepsi has departed from that concept and launched a red can as part of a new marketing campaign, citing their status as official supporter of the Chinese Olympic team as the main reason.
The new can is all red except for a blue stripe on one side, which arguably makes it more than just fleetingly similar to its competitor. The official marketing director for Pepsi in China dismisses this simlarity out of hand: The decision to “go red” had nothing to do with Coke. Instead, he said: “We are going red for Team China. We wouldn’t be doing a program that is simulating the competitor.”
Apparently the red can is just a temporary promotion until the end of the year. Meanwhile, Pepsi enthusiasts without knowledge of the Chinese language should better start memorizing the characters for “Pepsi”, as you cannot trust the color of the can anymore.
Source: Wall Street Journal
China, Coca Cola, Marken, Olympics, Olympische Spiele, Pepsi, trademarks
