Pepsi Blues

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Did anyone read  the Wall Street Journal (April 2) on PepsiCo? Hope this 
doesn't tire infooverkill but didnt see anything on it anywhere, a little 
humor perhaps?

Blue Pepsi, are you joking? Well, according to Thursday?s (4 4 96)edition 
of the French national daily, « Liberation » (« Pepsi-Cola noie son blues 
dans le bleu » (« Pepsi-Cola drowns its blues in blue), Chris Sinclair, 
President PepsiCo will spend  $500 million (nearly 2.5 billion French 
francs - not 1.5 billion as reported by the French!) in a radical  
transformation during the next two years of both its product and 
corporate image.

After a two year market study, PepsiCo is fighting back, having launched 
last Monday, its secret ?Project Blue ». In the future, Pepsi will be 
dressed byf a new metallic blue, on its cans, bottles, advertising, 
delivery trucks -virtually everything Pepsi turns blue.

Chris Sinclair, the story goes on to say,  sadly observes that PepsiCo 
suffers from a recognition problem!  After spending tens of millions of 
dollars in glitzy ads  winning creative design awards in international 
advertising contests, PepsiCo is still a loser, and that irks Chris 
Sinclair, enough for the big boss  to justify doing business with China 
and Burmese dictators. « Especially abroad, » says Liberation, « he 
understood, during a recent European trip, that Coca-Cola  ? red ? drawfs 
French supermarket shelves, as well as advertising and soda machines, 
throwing PepsiCo into the shadows ».  

PepsiCo saw its blue future during tests in Bahrein, having lined the 
sidewalks, street signs and dazed passerbys in  neons  blue. So, PepsiCo 
was encouraged by the response of  consumers and other sychophants of the 
Pepsi parade.  Decidely, while sales limped upward, PepsiCo marketeers 
were beamed, convinced that blue was  best for the big brand. So, PepsiCo 
gave the greenlight to the blue look early this year, and will soon paint 
some 20 countries blue in a massive media blitz , concentrating 
particularly in Europe - with long enough lead time to kill « Project 
Blue » before it spreads to usher North America into the next century in 
the year 2000. 

A cast of millions (dollars) will buck the biggest of the most vapid 
media stars -Claudia Schiffer?s sex appeal has not dampened her seduction 
of PepsiCo, and while she?s approaching thirty, the PepsiCo?s tyrants are 
undeterred by the younger generation  already weened on PepsiCo?s Cindy 
Crawford and apolitical tennis star, « come-back » André Agassi, still 
clinging to the charts. PepsiCo even unveiled its master plan to take the 
Pepsi message to space on the Russian spaceship « Mir » and may paint the 
French supersonic Concorde,a  PepsiCo blue. Money will buy anything.

But will it buy success. Market experts are not so sure, and suspect that 
PepsiCo?s image switch may backfire and invite disaster to the dark 
liquid empire.  Some 30,000 PepsiCo delivery trucks carrrying  ten 
billion bottles a year are at stake,  certain to put PepsiCo in the 
spotlight of public attention as consumers wonder  if PepsiCo?s days 
fading, and in fact, doubt if  the promotion may be  nothing more than a 
failed vision of overtaking arch rival,  indefatigable Coke. 

The fact is that never before has a company of  the huge size of PepsiCo 
taken such a risk in image maneuvering, cashing in the old haggered 
PepsiCo look for a new paint job. Industry observers doubt the colossal 
cosmetic job will pay off.  

But PepsiCo knows, according to « Liberation »,  that it doesn?t have 
much choice. « In less than ten years, the  consomption of non-alcoholic 
drinks has plummeted in half , dropping to 3.6 percent in 1995., Pepsi?s 
part of the market staggered at 31 percent compared to 43 percent for 
Coca-Cola ».  

PepsiCo is counting on foreign markets to turn around the downslide, 
nonetheless still trailing behind Coke?s dominance there, as elsewhere. 
Yet, the fact is, in Asia, Europe and elsewhere, consumers do not really 
make the taster?s choice between Pepsi and Coke. And while  taste may  
not be solely in the color, it is clear now that PepsiCo lost « the Red 
War ». And,  unable to go « one to  one », or « red to red », it is 
dodging,  changing color, distancing itself from a direct hit from its  
competitor  and hoping that will dupe the consumer into abandoning its 
preference for  Coke.

The gamble is very high stakes. « And the Olympics approach », writes 
Liberation, « which will be an immense campaign for the red brand image, 
digging deeper the pit » that threatens to swallow and bury Pepsi.