Pepsi vs Coca-Cola: Most Heated Clash of the 1996 World Cup

The 1996 Cricket World Cup was the site of a major controversy between beverage giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola. India had an unsuccessful campaign on the field and their exit in the semi-final is remembered for all the wrong reasons. But the World Cup presented path-breaking opportunities for the two global brands to connect with the customers in the sub-continent, especially in a newly liberalized Indian economy.

Coca-Cola bagged the official sponsorship rights for the 1996 Cricket World Cup. This gave Coca-Cola the right to advertise within stadiums and be the exclusive soft drink sold at match venues. However, Pepsi wanted to maintain its brand presence during this major sporting event.

Pepsi launched the "Nothing official about it, a-ha." campaign. The TV commercials and print ads showed cricketers favouring the unofficial drink Pepsi and rejecting the official drink Coca-Cola. Pepsi hit a masterstroke by getting cricketers such as Courtney Walsh, Azharuddin, lan Bishop and Sachin Tendulkar to feature in the ads. Umpire Dickie Bird was part of the campaign too.

The campaign created a stir and in no time Pesi became the go-to drink for the young cricket fans. This was also the time cricket was transitioning from white jerseys to coloured jerseys. Pepsi's creative campaign gave a huge boost to their acceptability among the youth.

Pepsi not only managed to overshadow Coca-Cola but were able to do it at a fraction of what Coca-Cola spent on the sponsorship. This campaign is remembered as one of the most successful ambush marketing efforts in sports history.

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