Introduction
Probably one of the most interesting (and definitely successful) inventions of the previous century is the nutritionally insignificant, yet deeply engraved in the worldwide modern life is the soft drinks. No one knows how to make them except a very few key people in the world, and yet they have become a very defining element of civilization for more than a century and running. Arguably, this is thanks to the competition between the two giant soft drink products which race to domination swept through the whole world, shaping history in all aspects of humanity while quenching its thirst. In this report, I will explore the websites to find the similarities as well as the differences between these products, by comparing their history, mission statement, employment and benefits, and their best known products currently available and services they offer now.
History
A blog based on both companies’ websites outlined the companies’ history side by side (SeanLind, 2011). According to the blog Coca-cola and Pepsi were both invented right before the end of the 19th century, with Coca-cola over a decade ahead of the competition. In 1886, a pharmacist, John S. Pemberton invented the concoction that is to be the secret formula of Coca-cola. Later in 1898, Caleb Bradham, also a pharmacist, created the syrup for Pepsi-cola and started selling the drink (then known as “Brad’s Drink”) from his own pharmacy (Cumler, 2012). With over a decade of a head start, Coca-cola was already selling overseas while Pepsi struggled through the World War I and the 1930s Depression, getting bankrupt twice.
Pepsi endured a lot of internal reshuffling during the following years while Coca-cola enjoys stability and plenty under one president who was to serve for 60 years. Pepsi was able to stay on the race by being twice cheaper than competition and went into the World War II with Coca-cola on the lead. By this time, Coca-cola was very much attached to the American image and has become an iconic symbol during the war. "It reminds me what I'm fighting for," a soldier says.
After the war, the race for domination heats up and the soft drink brands began to use advertising as their platform of competition (Cumler, 2012). They competed from slogans to jingles and were advancing one country in the world at a time. Their competition in advertising must have trail-blazed for other companies as well which campaigns were effective or not. Today Pepsi has caught up with Coke, and there are people all over the world who cannot tell the two apart in taste.
Conclusion
The CnnTees (2011) website offered a very direct, visual, and comparison of the both soda companies, from their history, to ad images, to company profiles, such as revenues, incomes, and online followers. It is plainly and interestingly a comparison between both companies with no indication of bias. The slide from slideshare.net is a chronology about Pepsi-cola alone, detailing its advert strategies for years. The battle of the adverts is one of the main elements of the Coke-Pepsi completion and looking at it will give the reader an idea of how Pepsi fought its side of the battle. The fascinating story of how Cola-cola proceeded with its side of the advert battle can be left to the imagination.
Despite the many health controversies in soft drinks, people all over the world have acquired the taste for Coke or Pepsi or both that it is hard to imagine a world without it anymore. Both companies can thank the competition that motivated them to conquer the world. In that respect, people all over whole enjoy soft drinks can thank their competition as well for it is what brought the soft drinks to their homeland. The Coke and Pepsi competition, without doubt, have broken barriers and paved way into how the world conducts business today.
References
SeanLind. (2011 October 27). “Coke vs. Pepsi.” CnnTees.com. Accessed from: http://www.cnntees.com/infographics/coke-vs-pepsi/
Cumler, Z. (2012 April 29). 20 Years of Pepsi. Slideshare.net. Accessed from: http://www.slideshare.net/Zoe_Cumler/20-years-of-pepsi-12738763
