Prompt Cast
The Cola Wars: A History of Competition Between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola
TLDR The Cola Wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have been ongoing since the 19th century, with both companies resorting to advertising and packaging to compete. The introduction of Pepsi's sweeter taste and Coca-Cola's failed attempt with New Coke are key moments in this long-standing rivalry.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Cola Wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola started in the 19th century and the two companies have been competing against each other ever since.
01:47
Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola couldn't compete on product innovation, so they resorted to competing with advertising and packaging, with Coca-Cola creating the modern version of Santa Claus and Pepsi switching to a larger bottle during the Great Depression.
03:10
Pepsi's "Pepsi Challenge" taste test campaign in 1975 marked the beginning of the Cola Wars, as it revealed that Pepsi was preferred over Coca-Cola by 57% of participants, leading to a decline in exclusive Coke consumers and an increase in exclusive Pepsi consumers.
04:55
Coca-Cola's declining market share and the success of Pepsi's sweeter taste led to a secret project to change the formula of Coke in order to compete with Pepsi's taste.
06:29
Coke's announcement of their new formula, known as New Coke, was met with swift and severe negative reactions from the public, including thousands of complaints, jokes on late night television, and even protests.
08:03
Coke's announcement of their new formula, known as New Coke, was met with swift and severe negative reactions from the public, leading to the reintroduction of the old formula as Coca-Cola Classic and the eventual reversion back to the original formula in 1992.
09:36
Coke's decision to create New Coke was influenced by taste tests and competition from Pepsi, and despite its initial failure, New Coke was brought back for a limited time in 2019 due to high demand.
