The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Apr 6, 2011 at 5:06am
Circa 1975, Pepsi's marketing executives knew that in taste test after taste test, people thought Pepsi--at least on the first sip--tasted better. Maybe there was some ad exec who looked at the sales data and said, "This is incredibly unfair. The whole world just keeps buying Coke, no matter what we do. I give up on public opinion. It's too biased. Let's just stand outside waving Coke Adds Life flags, they're all going to buy Coke in the end anyway."
I presume they fired him.
- Comment (9)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
May '10
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
FYI for those who are not familiar with this: Claire's graphic is from a video translated by MEMRI TV in which an Egyptian cleric "explains" that "Pepsi" means "Pay Every Penny To Save Israel". This sort of lunacy is mainstream in the moderate Muslim nation of Egypt.
Jun '10
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
Okay, now it makes sense. I was so lost before the explanation of Pepsi.
Jan '11
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
So then New Coke was an evil Zionist plot to . . . to do what, exactly? Rot the teeth of all Islam?
Jan '11
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
YouTube appears to have the video with English subtitles. Who knew a penny was one-thousandth of a dollar? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLJ8Xb8267g
May '10
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
When I was in Israel in '89, Coca-Cola was no where to be found in the country, only Pepsi. If you wanted a Coke, you had to go to Egypt, which only sold Coke, not Pepsi. It was explained to me by some knowledgeable person over there that because Pepsi got a deal to sell into Israel, the rest of the Muslim countries voiced their objection to Pepsi and only allow Coke to be sold in their countries. Is there any truth to that urban myth?
Jul '10
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
Hmm. When I lived in the Middle East in the mid '80s, we could only get Pepsi, never Coke, and they told us the same thing: that Coke was sold in Israel, so the Arabs boycotted it.
It's a Cola Conspiracy Cabal! Get Berlinksi on it!!
Jul '10
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
Some times the Youtube comments section is worth reading:
Edited on Apr 6, 2011 at 6:03pmMar '11
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
Actually, I have been living in Israel since 1987, and there's truth to that - just backwards. There was no Pepsi in Israel until the early 90s, when various branches of the Pepsico conglomerate (such as Pizza Hut and KFC) started doing business in Israel through the Israeli conglomerate "Clal".
Coca Cola, on the other hand, has actually had factories in Israel for decades.
Occam's razor would suggest that the explanation for this was the boycott; if I remember correctly, in the late 80s and early 90s there was significant effort in the US to enforce anti-boycott legislation.
May '10
Re: The Pepsi Challenge and the Gaza Flotilla
Heshmon
Actually, I have been living in Israel since 1987, and there's truth to that - just backwards.
Come to think of it, it must have been backwards because my roommate kept asking for Pepsi in Israel and was only offered Coke, which she hated. When we went to Egypt for a few days, she binged on Pepsi.