Pepsi raises cola war stakes with viral ad

PEPSI CONTINUED a long and irreverent tradition of selling against rival Coca-Cola with a new video advert featuring a polar bear drinking its product. The Polar bear has become a classic mascot in Coke’s ads and Pepsi is taking a risk in suggesting it has converted to its brand. Whilst the publicity will no doubt be claimed as positive for Pepsi there were signs of a backlash on social media. Pepsi plays the perennial challenger brand despite having a much wider product base in snack foods as well as beverages. The acid test of the current winners of the cola wars will come later this week as both brands report earnings. Previous quarters have seen Coca-Cola largely flat but Pepsi has fallen behind both Coke and Diet Coke in third place.