personally I hate coke, its not something i enjoy drinking. But its obvious that their brand positioning is exactly what people want to hear and perfect to sell. Pepsi kinda takes the high road here but it just doesnt work as well as cokes sell out ideals. Both are what i hate about advertising really, the thinking is so old school its embarrassing.

Pepsi is the best! It's advertisenment is like a NIKE and Levi's.

Coke comes across as a hardcore believer of the Hierarchy of Effects models. Emotional branding might be the only reason they have almost always been number 1 in the InterBrand list of top 100 brands. Great post.

I m not a big fan of the products these two firms sell, as in Coke/Pepsi. The only time i drink Coke is when its mixed up with sum rum and some lime. But these guys are fighting over a certain market share all the time which i think is great, because as you may have notice, coke/pepsi is rather cheap. Cheaper then milk/bottled water in shit loads of places i been too! Which is good for me, or for those whom consume coke/pepsi!

Not really a commercial war going on, but different marketing strategies being applied

At the same time, advertising is all about branding a feeling or a lifestyle to the product. In that sense, both products did a good job, Coke to the happy sharing feeling, Pepsi goin for the popularity lifestyle.

You missed this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EEZLYKN8Fo

Having lived 7 years in Atlanta, Coke HQ, I am extremely biased... and pepsi tastes horrible.

Honestly, I think Coke's emotional appeal is way better than Pepsi's celebrity endorsements. Everyone can have a celebrity come dance and sing for Pepsi, but it's just not that creative. Expressing emotion can be done in an incredible amount of ways, and the first Coke commercial on this page, the one inside a vending machine, was extremely creative, totally fresh, and interesting. I remembered that commercial from the first time I saw it air on TV, and I can remember almost none of the Pepsi commercials.

i don't want to take sides with taste - personally i'm a diet dr. pepper fan (owned by 7up-which is owned by pepsi) but i would have to say that both companies have memorable campaigns. psyop's vending machine ad is wonderful but you can't forget britney's pepsi spot.

however, i would agree with killercreative in that these are simply two huge companies with disposable budgets towards marketing. gotta sell the sugared water to the kids early i suppose.

We have a little saying in our family, that its only christmas when you see the coca-cola truck advert on tv. Its sad, but they play it every year and it just goes to show coke have the right thinking about it.

Personally I prefer Pepsi over coke, it tastes much nicer, but I don't want to start a 'which tastes better' war.

Hy !
Like your Blog. A great source of inspiration.
I suppose thier is a lot of commercial for this two brands, but I would like to show you my favorite :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGegKKF2Xpw&eurl=http://www.pubard.com/wi...

Pepsi is "the new generation", so when your fathers generation die, pepsi will sell more...

i can explain it more... but my english sucks.

water rulz! =)

I don't agree with you at all about Pepsi adds not having any emotional appeal. They use celebrities (mostly for singing which gives you a tune to hum for a day) to create funny/kind/freaky/etc. situations. The Cindy Crawford ad is funny (old but funny), Jackson's ad is very inspiring with all of the dances, and I could go on. I think that coke's ad campaigns are way too techy and are used to show off the progress and i don't like someone showing off :)

Coke has always been a heartbrand. Much harder (and more expensive) to build. But it lasts longer.

Pepsi is much more flexible and can adapt quicky to current events. However, it is more about short term gain over a sustainable brand.

Coke tends to become a bit boring over the years. It's hard to be innovative within the Coke margin. Pepsi can be more innovative with less restrictions. But they have to watch out that their message stay's clear.

My personal preferences goes out to heartbrands. But you have to comit to it (as a brand).

I somehow feel that Pepsi is more oriented at making Coca Cola look bad.

Coke seems 'honest'. You forgot to put the Jimi Hendrix ad in here by Pepsi, I laughed with that one, its good but also really mean towards Coca Cola!

I don't watch commercials, EVER!
I drink Coca-Cola because I like it better.

So Pepsi have used Britney, Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson, David Beckham etc etc.
All people that represent things I really despise.
Have Pepsi ever considered that using these people in their ads might turn more people away from their product than they bring in?
While Coca-Cola is an equally disgusting company as Pepsi they at least pretend to be good in a more "convincing" way.

I don't mind either, but tend to buy coke more and its probably due to coke's stance. It just seems the classier of the two, more of a sense of quality. I love the creativity of the 'Happiness Factory' its more than just an ad and the Christmas Trucks is just a classic, I always get this sense of pride when i get to see it when the holidays come around, its almost a signal, that 'yep, Christmas is here'. These are memorable adverts that stick in your mind when you're in the store at the drinks fridge. The Pepsi ads are not creative and thus forgettable, a fail in my book.

I love the Coke_Christmas_truck commercial (song).
At the time I was a kid it allways gave me the feeling, that chistmas will be come soon. :)

I prefer Pepsi over Coke but I think it is a HUGE waste of money for both companies. Most ineffective market ever.

Coke wins because it links to something bigger than a fleeting celebrity status, as it goes for nostalgia -- and as someone else mentioned, has become synonymous with Christmas.

Pepsi all the way!

Hello.

Didn't you mean WARM feelings instead of HARM feelings?

"It sells tradition, harm feelings, brotherhood and happiness."

I like your blog a LOT. I have learned a TON from it. Thank you.