The cola wars are moving to the Super Bowl. PepsiCo has arranged to block other marketers of non-alcoholic beverages from advertising in the first half of next year's gridiron classic, as well as the halftime show, according to media buyers and other executives with knowledge of the situation. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola is considering locking up a similar deal in the third quarter, according to some of these people.
Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi has held sway in the Super Bowl for many years, running ads like this one with Britney Spears.
Ensuring category exclusivity isn't an entirely new tactic in the Super Bowl -- Anheuser-Busch has long been able to block other marketers of beer from the game -- but media buyers say they can't recall Pepsi using the option in recent years. While Coke is trying to work out an exclusive pact, it is not a done deal, according to people familiar with the situation. NBC will air Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1, 2009, from Tampa Bay, Fla.
read the rest of Brian Steinberg's story here.
I always knew Pepsi was the devil
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