If you are surprised about the new Pepsi ad, you better believe it. Wonder though if Pepsi is making business blunders, taking their “Youngistan” is a little too far.
Investing in youth was never considered a flaw to begin with. But when letting go of the “old”, it is important to discern, from a business point of view, where it makes economical sense.
While Coke recently renewed its rupees ten crores a year deal with Aamir Khan, Pepsi bid goodbye to Shah Rukh Khan on after ten years, leaving him saying, “I’m jobless.” But it appears Pepsi will be feeling a little bit of the same as Coke is planning to tie up with big names and events where Pepsi will have run out of good will.
Coca Cola, precisely Sprite, is set to become the official beverage partner and sponsors for the Kolkata Knight Riders whose franchisee owner happens to be Shah Rukh Khan. It remains to be seen whether Shah Rukh will actually feature in those ads, or in a separate individual contract. But it appears Pepsi has lost face as Coca Cola will also be seen predominantly in Delhi with Sprite zooming past Pepsi as the second most preferred soft drink behind leading Thums Up.
Pepsi recently dropped the Indian trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly as well instead preferring Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma and even the out of team Sree santh as was visible in their recent ad campaigns.
Another kind of Coke war when the IPL begins again!
