Pepsi...or Coke?

I've been wondering about something: Does what a brand tells me - the vibe, the stance they take - does it really influence me? Does it make me enjoy that brand more? Does it make me choose one brand over another? You see, the more I've looked at what I consume, the more I wonder why I have preferences for certain brands. Is it because I believe they actually do offer something superior to their competition, or am I just being told that.

So here goes: does brand positioning affect my decision to drink Pepsi over Coke?

Well, if I want to look at the advertising side of this first, I would have to say that the way Pepsi positions itself would speak to me more clearly than Coke. So if we look at this from a standpoint of pure influence, I would say that Pepsi would be the winner in this battle of preferences.

I find Pepsi's advertising targets the younger generation. I mean, when I was a teeneager, and you use the Spice Girls to sell to me (versus an "everybody is happy and loves Coke message") I'm probably gonna go for it. Even though I can say that I truly did not mind some of their music and even liked some of it, having 5 hot women dancing around telling me to drink Pepsi because I was Generation Next, probably didn't hurt their image at all.

So, I think if you looked at it from a brand positioning view, Pepsi does hook me more so than Coke. Pepsi has a logo to identify with (though don't get me started on the new one) the main colour is cooler (blue) and their overall attitude is that of youth (look at their Diet Pepsi spots). Coke on the otherhand has a very strong red as their colour, uses their own name as their logo, and kind of portrays this image of love and joy, with the whole world just loving the shit out of Coke and each other. It's two very different positions that these products put themselves in, and it's hard to say why you would choose one over the other.

Me, I just think Pepsi tastes better.