Will Pepsi Seize the Moment…

 

…or pour it away like Coke?

My cousin texted me about Coca-Cola’s “Be Less White” training the other day. (Ammo Grrrl on Powerline has a great take on that today.) In my exchange with him, I envisioned a possible Pepsi response to take competitive advantage of Coke’s incredible foolishness by starting a “Be Less Coke” campaign:

Some companies want to define you by the color of your cola, to make you feel bad about its color even if you can’t control it and never could. We at Pepsi could care less about the color. We only care about how it tastes. Be less Coke.

Sadly I don’t envision Pepsi doing so.

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  1. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

     

    Currently looking for employment.

    • #1
  2. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    Pepsi should start a campaign of black bears sharing Their product with polar bears. 

    • #2
  3. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Kozak (View Comment):

     

    Currently looking for employment.

    Black bears in the next ad campaign?

    • #3
  4. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    Pepsi should start a campaign of black bears sharing Their product with polar bears.

    @jimmycarter your comment got posted before mine: hat tip to you. But sharing?! (Now that’s the real AI we need — not letting you post a redundant thought unless in quotations — not autocorrect.)

    • #4
  5. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    Maybe not “sharing,” but all kinds of bears together drinking Pepsi. 

    • #5
  6. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    Coke has invested a ton in that brand and it is going to take a lot more than a few memes to make a dent in that position.   I was shopping for canned water the other day and I was surprised at how many brands and how much shelf space are owned by Coke-a-cola.  Wikipedia tells me it is 500+ brands!   In the end, Coke is probably more worried about cities and states taxing sugary drinks. 

    • #6
  7. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):
    In the end, Coke is probably more worried about cities and states taxing sugary drinks. 

    Fair point. Maybe that is a tax we should support?

    • #7
  8. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Rodin: Sadly I don’t envision Pepsi doing so. 

    Me neither.

    But if they did, I’d like to see them interview a broad spectrum of Pepsi employees.  The workers could say things like, “We’re a family that respects all types of people,” or “We don’t need to be trained to be less of what we are just to make our fellow employees feel better.”  Play up they angle Pepsi doesn’t need to Woke Train their employees because they are already the epitome of a tolerant, diverse workforce.

    • #8
  9. Phil Turmel Inactive
    Phil Turmel
    @PhilTurmel

    That would be glorious.  I’m not holding my breath, but I’ll be buying more Pepsi anyways.

    • #9
  10. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Fortunately my drink of choice for years has been Diet Mtn Dew, which is a Pepsi product.

    • #10
  11. Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… Member
    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio…
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    Maybe not “sharing,” but all kinds of bears together drinking Pepsi.

    I hope that they include some panda bears.  :)

    • #11
  12. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Well these days, any ad including polar bears would have to show them drowning, lest it be decried as climate-denying.

    • #12
  13. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    There was a time when a business would leap at the opportunity to stick it to a competitor.  Those days disappeared last year.  Now, they seem to be in lockstep and the only competition they’re in is to see who is the most “woke”.

    • #13
  14. JustmeinAZ Member
    JustmeinAZ
    @JustmeinAZ

    Well my preferred drinks are RC Cola and Pepsi. Don’t tell me about their management positions. I don’t want to give them up.

    • #14
  15. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    JustmeinAZ (View Comment):

    Well my preferred drinks are RC Cola and Pepsi. Don’t tell me about their management positions. I don’t want to give them up.

    They still make RC Cola?  I haven’t seen one in ages, and we travel a lot . . .

    • #15
  16. Suspira Member
    Suspira
    @Suspira

    JustmeinAZ (View Comment):

    Well my preferred drinks are RC Cola and Pepsi. Don’t tell me about their management positions. I don’t want to give them up.

    You’ll have to pry my Diet Coke from my cold, dead hands. When the woke racists come for me, I’ll show them my recycling bin filled with the remains of Coca-Cola products as proof I’m “less white,” despite my inability to tan.

    • #16
  17. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    I don’t see Pepsi doing that. They incorporated the Obama campaign logo into their logo so I doubt they’ll make fun of Coke’s wokeness.

    • #17
  18. JustmeinAZ Member
    JustmeinAZ
    @JustmeinAZ

    Stad (View Comment):

    JustmeinAZ (View Comment):

    Well my preferred drinks are RC Cola and Pepsi. Don’t tell me about their management positions. I don’t want to give them up.

    They still make RC Cola? I haven’t seen one in ages, and we travel a lot . . .

    Yep. You can buy it at Walmart (here, anyway) and there are a couple of restaurants that serve it as their preferred cola.

    • #18
  19. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    I don’t see Pepsi doing that. They incorporated the Obama campaign logo into their logo so I doubt they’ll make fun of Coke’s wokeness.

    Well I guess Obama was a Pepsi guy. Maybe he understood the underlying racism of Coke?

    • #19
  20. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke?  It’s black!

    • #20
  21. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Stad (View Comment):

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke? It’s black!

    Just proves that whites think blacks are something to be consumed/used.

    • #21
  22. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Stad (View Comment):

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke? It’s black!

    If it’s black you should take it back and exchange it for a fresh one.

    • #22
  23. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke? It’s black!

    Just proves that whites think blacks are something to be consumed/used.

    Naw, I think it’s just another case of culture appropriation…

    • #23
  24. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke? It’s black!

    Just proves that whites think blacks are something to be consumed/used.

    Naw, I think it’s just another case of culture appropriation…

    Well, Pepsi Clear didn’t seem to do well in the marketplace.

    • #24
  25. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Kozak (View Comment):

    Currently looking for employment.

    Black bears in the next ad campaign?

    Which is funny, weren’t the polar bears a pity character for global warming points?

    • #25
  26. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    kedavis (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke? It’s black!

    Just proves that whites think blacks are something to be consumed/used.

    Naw, I think it’s just another case of culture appropriation…

    Well, Pepsi Clear didn’t seem to do well in the marketplace.

    Clear had no corresponding ethnic group.  Or if there was I didn’t see them.

    • #26
  27. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Flicker (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    How can whites be racist if they drink Coke? It’s black!

    Just proves that whites think blacks are something to be consumed/used.

    Naw, I think it’s just another case of culture appropriation…

    Well, Pepsi Clear didn’t seem to do well in the marketplace.

    Clear had no corresponding ethnic group. Or if there was I didn’t see them.

    The drink of Scientologists.

    • #27
  28. Joseph Stanko Coolidge
    Joseph Stanko
    @JosephStanko

    Rodin: We at Pepsi could care less about the color.

    Clearly Coke could care less about color, too — that’s the problem.

    </end grammar rant>

    • #28
  29. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    Joseph Stanko (View Comment):

    Rodin: We at Pepsi could care less about the color.

    Clearly Coke could care less about color, too — that’s the problem.

    </end grammar rant>

    The wonderful David Mitchell.

    • #29
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