Pepsi is a household name in the soda industry.
Whether you are a team Pepsi or a team Coca Cola person, you recognize the label and you’ve
tasted it before.
Pepsi has been around for a while.
But, there are some things you still might not know about it.
Here are 10 Pepsi facts that will make you thirsty for more!
Pepsi was originally called “Brad’s Drink”
Pepsi was invented by a guy named Caleb Davis Bradham.
A trim looking fellow with a fashionable moustache and a big forehead.
He was a druggist, or you could call him an apothecary, or as we like to say today, a
pharmacist.
He lived in New Bern, North Carolina, and released his very own soda fountain beverage
in 1893.
He called it “Brad’s Drink” and it was very popular.
It was made and sold from his own drugstore.
It contained a mixture of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, kola nuts, nutmeg, and some other
secret additives.
By the summer of 1903 his drink had consumers hooked!
He was selling it to other pharmacists, who were in turn selling it in their stores.
Caleb Bradham wanted a snappier name, so he changed it to Pepsi-Cola.
He trademarked the name, clever fella, and brought it to even more vendors across North
Carolina.
The expansion of his business happened very quickly.
By 1910 he had brought Pepsi to twenty-four States!
Not only was this a major accomplishment, but it was also done very well.
He set up franchisers who were allowed to sell the products themselves, making their
own little profit.
There you go!
What we now know as Pepsi was once called “Brad’s Drink,” but that did not last
very long!
The First Celebrity Pepsi Endorsement
When Pepsi was first launched, as “Brad’s Drink” it was being sold in pharmacies.
It was marketed as a product that would aid digestive issues.
The drink’s slogan was: “Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion.”
Not catchy at all right?
It doesn’t even rhyme!
If a slogan is going to be listing stuff off and ending in a miniature indication of the
products abilities, you would think at least it would be memorable enough to stay stuck
in your head.
This was not memorable.
The slogan and the intended usage of the product also narrowed the target audience and was
slowing sales.
In 1913 Pepsi-Cola sought to rectify this problem by removing the digestion slogan and
hiring Barney Oldfield.
Barney Oldfield was a racecar driver who changed the racing world.
Apparently his name was “synonymous with speed.”
He was the first man to drive a car on a circular track at sixty miles per hour.
Though that may seem like nothing to us now, it was pretty wild at the time!
He raced between 1902 and 1918.
During that time he earned a suspension for outlaw racing and participated in the “Championship
of the Universe” race in which he won $250,000.
He was a force to be reckoned with!
By partnering with Barney Oldfield Pepsi-Cola was able to attack a much wider audience than
they had previously been able.
Barney Oldfield was cool, hip, kind of a bad boy, who raced fast cars and looked good doing
it.
Boys wanted to be him, men envied him, and women loved him.
Since this first celebrity endorsement, the company has been able to secure numerous others.
Fame and Pepsi seem to go hand in hand.
Pepsi-Cola went bankrupt
Woah… it almost sounds blasphemous having “Pepsi” and “Bankrupt” in the same
sentence right?
Pepsi’s current fame and stable presence on the market would never have you thinking
that the drink and its owner once filed for bankruptcy; but it happened.
To be fair it was not all Caleb Bradham’s fault.
As an owner, he had so many good choices for his soft drink.
He changed its name to something really catchy, got franchisers to sell the item, and brought
the product into many American stores.
This all sounds great, as if Caleb Bradham and his drink were on the proper path to success.
And they were.
They would have done super well - had it not been for the war.
The First World War happened and ruined so many businesses.
Wartime caused prices on sugar to rise.
The world’s supply for the commodity fell by 20% during the war time years.
Despite his best efforts at playing the market, Caleb Bradham went bankrupt in 1923.
That could have been the end of Pepsi-Cola.
Imagine a world where Pepsi doesn’t exist…
Pretty crazy.
But Mr. Bradham kept fighting for his drinks survival.
Bringing it to investor after investor until finally in 1931 it was bought by Loft Candy
Co.
Coca-Cola nearly Acquired Pepsi-Cola
Once Loft Candy Co. had bought Pepsi-Cola, the Great Depression hit.
Charles.
G. Guth, the president of the company, tried his best to sell the drink to a very dry market.
During his struggles he was approached by Coca-Cola who offered to take the drink off
of his hands.
Obviously, the offer was refused and Charles Guth continued to struggle throughout the
Depression.
His tactic was to sell the soda in twelve ounce bottles for just five cents.
This was an incredible deal.
At the time, Coke was being sold in six ounce bottles for the same price.
Pepsi boasted, saying they could give customers “twice as much for a nickel.”
They even made a “Nickel Nickel” radio jingle that was broadcast from coast to coast
and recorded into fifty-five different languages.
Now, that is a strong come back!
Joan Crawford and Pepsi have a Long History
Joan Crawford was an American actress best known for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?,
Sudden Fear, and Mildred Pierce.
Her work in Mildred Pierce won her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1946.
She was truly a successful film star, had a contract with MGM, and a total of four husbands.
Why does her marital status matter?
Well, that is how she first became connected to Pepsi-Cola.
In 1955 she married Alfred Steele (her fourth and final husband), who was then an executive
at the company.
Throughout their marriage, Alfred would go on to climb the corporate ladder of Pepsi-Cola;
moving up to President, being named Chairman of the Board, and then CEO.
Since she was a famous actress, Pepsi-Cola used her to market their product.
She traveled extensively for the company and was said to tout the soft drink at social
functions.
When her husband died in 1959, the company tried to break their ties with Joan.
Joan shared this information with Louella Parsons, a movie columnist and screenwriter,
and Pepsi immediately took her back by giving her a seat on the Board of Directors.
In February of 1963 Pepsi awarded Joan the “Pally Award” for her major influence
in the public’s contribution to sales.
In 1973 Joan Crawford was forced to retire from the company.
Though this does seem sad, and it is, it was all done in Pepsi’s undying desire to stay
hip and current.
Joan Crawford was no longer appealing to a wide audience and Pepsi let her go.
They did not do it in the best way though, and for that we give them a big thumbs down.
Apparently, she found out by reading the financial section of The New York Times.
Come on… have the decency to let a girl go with class and consideration.
Pepsi is not afraid to make tough calls, it seems.
Cardi B’s Super Bowl Commercial was a Political Statement
When Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the anthem it caused a whole stir.
At the VMA’s, Cardi B shouted “Colin Kaepernick, as long as you kneel with us, we’ll be standing
by you, baby.”
When it came time for the Super Bowl to announce who would be performing during the halftime
show there were some rumors that it would be Cardi B. She stopped this right away by
saying she would not perform until “they hire Colin Kaepernick back.”
Then, something really cool happened.
Pepsi used Cardi B in their Super Bowl ad in which she taps her red, white, and blue
nails on a can and educates viewers on how Pepsi is not just “Okurrrr.”
By using Cardi B in their ad, Pepsi was indirectly giving Colin Kaepernick their support.
With their failed attempt at being political in the Kendel Jenner ad, this seemed like
the perfect opportunity to be political and yet, remain neutral.
Had you not known about Cardi B’s statements on the Colin Kaepernick, affair the commercial
would have just seemed like clever marketing.
But, it was far more than that.
The Super Bowl commercial with Cardi B was not only reminding everyone that Pepsi is
not just “Okurrrr.”
Pepsi is also a company that stands with the people and knows right from wrong.
Doesn’t this fill you with pride and make you want to drink up?
Pepsi had a Japanese Mascot
For those of you who saw John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episode that talked about Chiitan
and Shinjokun, you already know about Japan and their numerous mascots.
If you have not seen this episode go check it out; it was aired on April 21, 2019 and
takes a startling turn when it starts talking about Japanese mascots, rivalries, otters,
and mascot posts on social media.
All this to say that Japan has mascots.
Many, many mascots.
They use a particular kind of mascot, called Yuru-chara, to promote a place, region, event,
or even a business.
Pepsi got right onto this bandwagon by making their own Yuru-chara in the mid 1990’s.
They called him: Pepsiman.
Yes, that is one word… just like Superman or Batman.
Pepsiman is rather frightening.
He kind of has no face and drinks his Pepsi from a hole in his head that just appears.
Why does this mascot matter and why should it make you want to drink more Pepsi?
Well, Pepsi is so dedicated to their public that they are willing to create a mascot superhero
for one specific country.
They are making Pepsi appealing to absolutely everyone.
They embraced the Japanese Yuru-chara tradition and that is so cool.
Now, go… go learn about Japanese mascots and Pepsiman.
You won’t be sorry!
Pepsi has had a Crazy Amount of Flavors
Over the years Pepsi has had many variations of their original product.
Here is a little list of some of what the company has explored and the flavors they
have tried: Crystal Pepsi (a clear version of the drink everyone already knows – sold
primarily in 1992 and 1993 but brought back over the years due to popular demand), Pepsi
X (a Dragon Fruit Cola version that was released to market the X Factor TV show), Pepsi Gold
(a gold color version of the soda sold to promote both the 2006 FIFA Wold Cup and 2007
ICC Cricket World Cup), Pepsi 100 (made in 1998 for the drink’s one hundredth birthday
– available for a limited time and then brought back in 2003 to celebrate the brands
name), Pepsi Samba (a “Tropical Flavoured Cola” which contained mango and tamarind
- sold in Australia and Spain in 2005), Pepsi Pink (a limited edition, pink in color, strawberry-milk
flavored version that was sold in 2011 and then again in 2014), Pepsi Sakura (A cherry
blossom flavored Pepsi sold in 2016 in Japan), and Pepsi Cappuccino (a mocha-latte flavored
Pepsi sold for a limited time in Guatemala and El Salvador in 2006 and in Honduras in
2012).
These are just a few of the numerous flavors Pepsi has offered over the years around the
world.
This is so great because it means that you can try a new kind of Pepsi wherever you travel.
When you are abroad Pepsi will make you feel at home and give you something new.
Pepsi made it into the Soviet Union before Any Other Product
In 1974 the first USSR Pepsi plant opened.
It apparently made up to 160,000 bottles of Pepsi per shift.
This is impressive because Pepsi’s key competitor, Coca-Cola, was not active in the Russian market
at the time.
It started in 1972 when the product was being sold as a concentrate where it was then being
diluted and bottled by Russians and then sold across the country.
At this time there was an issue with the USSR currency, making payment to the American company
difficult.
Therefore, in exchange for the Pepsi concentrate, America was given Vodka instead of money.
That’s a pretty neat fact.
Who would have thought that a major brand would be using the barter system in the 70’s?
That was not that long ago.
There was quite a bit of vodka shipped to the US; meaning they were selling their fair
share of Pepsi.
Between 1973-1981 a total of 1.9 million decaliters of Stolichnaya vodka, worth twenty five million
dollars was shipped to the US for 32.3 million decaliters of Pepsi.
This earned the Kremlin three-hundred and three point three million rubles.
What an amazing deal.
Well done Pepsi on getting to this huge market first!
Pepsi used Skywriting to Advertise before Anyone Else Did
You have surely seen some kind of skywriting in your lifetime.
Skywriting is the process of a small aircraft expelling smoke and flying in a pattern to
create words or pictures in the sky.
This craze was first used for advertising by Pepsi in 1932.
The company hired Andy Stinis to write Pepsi in the sky over numerous American cities.
The company then went on to hire Suzanne Ashbury-Oliver who was the only female skywriter in the US.
She started flying when she was only fourteen years old and became a spokesperson in her
own right by doing this job for Pepsi.
She would craft messages that were ten thousand feet above the ground which advertised the
soda.
Pepsi used this innovative way of advertising to reach numerous people all over the country.
Thank you Pepsi, for staying cool!
Pepsi is not only giving people a yummy product but they are entertaining and wowing customers
with their intelligent forms of marketing.
Pepsi knew, and still knows, that to be successful as a brand it is important to remain captivating.
We look forward to seeing what you do next!
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