hmn… long time no blog(gin)…
thought why not atleast c-p something i am writing by default…
so… we now have ND’s very first Book Review!… <clap> <clap> <clap>…
i wrote this for a copy test today… so, here goes…


The Other Guy Blinked: How Pepsi Won the Cola Wars

This is a very interesting book written by Roger Enrico, the then CEO of PepsiCo. As the name suggests, the book is a.) all about the famous Coke-Pepsi Cola Wars that were at their peak in the 80’s in the US and b.) that Pepsi is the ‘Hero’ of the story.

This book stands as a true testament to the Power of Advertising. This is essentially a Marketing Book that by default falls into the Advertising Section of most Media Libraries today. The fact that the marketing of a popular product such as a soda depends to most part on Advertising is what shows through the book. Moreover, the thought to ponder over is that the product itself has no remotely ‘practical’ benefit to a consumer – yet, on the thrust of effective advertising practices, these companies pull in a lot of dollars every year; in my opinion, the colas are made more out of advertising than the syrup!

The author takes you to the start to start with so to say. Meaning, the book goes back to the times when Pepsi was a nothing – not even a nobody! The book then goes on to describe how the Company grew and developed into a giant and that it is today. Pepsico is shown as a very energetic little organization that grew with and around its dealers while Coke is this ruthless bastard that has always had its way because it was ‘there first’ – it seems that the only mellow or thoughtful person that Coke ever had was some old guy with a difficult name after whose death these guys thought of the New Coke breakthrough.

The book continues to say how Coke was shook by the Underdog time and again and how Pepsi was always smarter than coke. It brings to light excellent managerial and marketing skills of Pepsi Folk (though its unfair that none of coke’s triumphs are even hinted) in signing Michael Jackson, maintaining the Michael Jackson deal, the Aspartame deal, the clever ‘Less than One Clorie’ Diet Pepsi positioning, etc.

All in all, it’s a cleverly one sided yet witty must-read. And as someone else has pointed out, it feels as if you are sitting in the pepsi office all the time and witnessing the strategy building up. Wonderful!