Pepsi pokes fun at Coca-Cola in cheeky new campaign

PepsiCo is directly targeting its competitor, Coca-Cola, with a cheeky new campaign titled "Tastes OK".

"Tastes OK" urges drinkers to opt for a Pepsi Max by cheekily highlighting a design flaw in the name of its biggest competitor - Coca-Cola's Coke drink. The campaign points out the 'OK' in the spelling of 'Coke', and invites consumers to choose a better tasting partner for their meal by ordering Pepsi Max.

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"We have long known that Pepsi Max tastes better than our main competitor and this latest campaign helps us reinforce our position as a challenger brand," said Vandita Pandey, chief marketing officer ANZ, snacks and beverages at PepsiCo.

"Australia’s meals are not being done justice, palates across the nation are being deprived, whilst consumers settle for OK," added Pandey. 

"Tastes OK" is created by creative agency, Special, and is an out of home (OOH) campaign. The OOH campaign lets drinkers of the competitor's product know that they're settling for just 'OK' when they don't choose Pepsi Max.

The "Tastes OK" ads are on OOH sites across Australia while its media strategy spans print, display, publisher partnerships, an influencer program and social signs.

"Getting briefed to work on the 'Tastes Better' campaign was exciting and intimidating in equal measure. It’s such a bold and direct line and it’s led to great work in the past, so we all knew we needed to do something that lived up to it," said Simon Gibson and Nils Eberhardt, creative directors at Special.

"Then, our competitor did it for us. We saw an image they put out into the world and noticed something we couldn’t unsee.”

PepsiCo has been taking a fun approach with their campaigns in recent years. Closer to Asia, Pepsi Philippines recently unveiled a new brand visual identity in November 2023.

It was the first-ever roll-out of Pepsi’s new logo outside the U.S. Hyping up the local tagline, Mas Masarap Maiba (It’s better to be different), Pepsi aimed to celebrate the individuality and authenticity of its audiences with the new identity. 

The new design included a new custom typeface and a visually distinct soda can silhouette with incorporated elements of an electric blue and black pulse, synonymous with the vibrant energy that Pepsi promises for its younger audiences.

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