Coke seems to understand the concept of hedonic consumption much better than Pepsi does. Lets face it, none of us really believe that drinking Coke/Pepsi could possibly do us any good (its unhealthy, contains only artificial flavours, has sugar/aspartame, destroys teeth, and the list goes on…). But we do drink these soft-drinks for other purposes. My roommate recently told me about how refreshing a glass of coke feels after a day in the sun. My old landlord never got handy around the house without a can of coke in his hand.
Soft-drinks serve a very hedonic purpose. Their consumption gives us sensory pleasure – immediate gratification. Amongst the two soft drink giants, Coke seems to get it much better than Pepsi does. While Pepsi is busy redesigning their logo, Coke is out there making ads that hit the nail right on the head.
Check out these two ads and you’ll see what I’m talking about. In fact the Coke ad that’s currently running on TV (I couldn’t find it on youtube) performs the same function – again reinforcing the pleasure aspects of consuming Coke.
Coke
Pepsi
couldn’t agree more. Much the same case in India as well. Aamir has struck a chord with the masses in all the coke ads, but Pepsi continues to do some “Youngistan” bull shit that even the youth detest.