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Pepsi hopes to make its greatest gains in the U.S. this summer, when it unleashes a marketing blitz tied to the Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace. Pepsi will spend around $2 billion exercising its exclusive boasting rights to America's favorite slice of fantasyland. There will be collectible Pepsi cans emblazoned with Star Wars characters and gold "Yoda" cans of Mountain Dew, not to mention surprises in bags of Frito snacks.
The Force may be with him, but some cynics out there think Enrico and Pepsi have lost the cola wars for good. One line of reasoning is that Coke is simply too big to topple. Coke, for instance, has added 8 billion cases of sales in 10 years, according to CEO Douglas Ivester. Others say that Enrico's deliberate strategy is tantamount to declaring defeat. Says Tom Pirko, president of consulting firm Bevmark: "Pepsi has put its tail between its legs and withdrawn."
That makes Enrico bristle. "Anyone who thinks we've reduced our commitment to the soft-drink business simply isn't getting the message," he says. Enrico warned his top managers in a recent strategy session not to think things at PepsiCo are going to be predictable. And deep down, Pepsi's cola warriors may never lose their thirst for battle. "We are going to take back what is rightfully ours," says Nooyi, the strategist. Let the games begin again.