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Pepsi Targets Coke In New Ads: Santa, Polar Bears Caught In Crossfire

First Posted: 07/21/11 12:22 PM ET Updated: 09/20/11 06:12 AM ET

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Coke Pepsi

The perennial Coke-versus-Pepsi battle has just become a bit more personal. Pepsi this month released a series of ads humorously targeting icons traditionally associated with Coca-Cola, such as polar bears and jolly old St. Nick.

In one ad, tanned polar bears cruise the waters of the North Pole as the ad's catch-phrase announces, "Summer time is Pepsi time." The ad is a clear send-off of the long-running Coca-Cola polar bears campaign.

Another ad seeks to break the long-running association between Coke and Santa Claus. After all, our modern image of Santa comes from a 1930s Coke ad, and this fact is interpreted in the ad to mean Santa has an exclusivity deal with Coke -- one he is clearly willing to ignore on summer vacation.

Massimo D'Amore, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages Americas, says the ads are meant to be humorous. "Like many wars, there are moments of truce and moments of war," he told the Financial Times. "Consumers like the healthy competition, and we felt this was the right time to have another episode."

Quick Poll

Which do you prefer?

Coke

Pepsi

None of the above. I get enough sugar already.

WATCH:

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The perennial Coke-versus-Pepsi battle has just become a bit more personal. Pepsi this month released a series of ads humorously targeting icons traditionally associated with Coca-Cola, such as polar ...
The perennial Coke-versus-Pepsi battle has just become a bit more personal. Pepsi this month released a series of ads humorously targeting icons traditionally associated with Coca-Cola, such as polar ...
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Patrick Doe
11 Fans
12:22 PM on 07/22/2011
wow, so low it's awefully crude...
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dthomp1987
30 Fans
11:07 AM on 07/22/2011
It's always funny seeing the difference between Coke and Pepsi ads. Coke usually has a positive, feel-good style to theirs and Pepsi is usually on the attack or pushing celebrities.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
lateralus1983
Like a scrotum here it is in a nutshell.
238 Fans
11:49 PM on 07/21/2011
They're both poison.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cameron d
Good Guys Win
1039 Fans
 
07:24 PM on 07/21/2011
That commercial with the polar bears is just awful. It actually makes me actively dislike Pepsi. Who could possibly enjoy that?
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Brent Millar
When the going gets weird, the weird turn Pro
102 Fans
01:48 PM on 07/21/2011
As Steve Jobs put it: It's just sugar water.

One is no better than the other. In fact if you want to know why America is so overweight, look no further than these sugar pimps.
Wondering about the diabetes rates skyrocketing? Ditto.

High Fructose corn syrup is the primary ingredient of both.
It's basically poison for your body.

Drink it if you will.
Be prepared to say good by to your feet and legs in the near future though...

But boy it sure does dehydrate you on a hot summer day
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lateralus1983
Like a scrotum here it is in a nutshell.
238 Fans
11:50 PM on 07/21/2011
I just posted that they were both poison. Glad I'm not the only one to say it.
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Brent Millar
When the going gets weird, the weird turn Pro
102 Fans
11:12 AM on 07/22/2011
I'll admit to enjoying an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle on a hot summer day, but I treat it like I treat cheesecake, yep it tastes good, but one should probably limit the quantity to a few a year.
As a staple in your regular diet, you're just asking for a liver transplant and a life of insulin injections.
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Jay from Ottawa
sovereignty sale, 1.3T OBO
352 Fans
01:43 PM on 07/21/2011
While I can tell which is coke and which is pepsi in a blind taste test, I can't tell you which I think taste better as to me, they both taste the same, even with each having it's own distinctive 'twist'.

Coke, pepsi, I can't believe people who get all hyped up about one and not the other, as if there aren't more important things to think about other than which sugar loaded fizzy syrup beverage is best (what my friend would call "first world problems").

Personally, I do my best to only drink a coke or pepsi (and even then I'll go for iced tea or gingerale) on rare occasion. It's horrible for you, so if it's not a treat, you shouldn't be drinking it.

That and I can't seem to forgive CokeCola for violating the Trading with the Enemy Act by selling Fanta (now available in N.A. as a relatively 'new' product) to Nazi Germany. For this reason, if given the choice between coke and pepsi, I'll choose pepsi (nothing I rarely drink pop anyways).

Granted the coka cola HQ in atlanta was a really fun visit :)
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Steve Karmazenuk
Author, Freelance Journalist, Curmudgeon
111 Fans
 
12:27 PM on 07/21/2011
It's pretty much been Pepsi's whole advertising strategy for several years now: Slag coke, instead of talking about why Pepsi is so good.

Couldn't participate in the poll, because I prefer Coke in a bottle, and Pepsi from a can.
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