Pepsi Max
Encyclopedia
Pepsi Max is a low-calorie
, sugar
-free cola
, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi
and Diet Pepsi
.
It differs from Pepsi in that it contains aspartame
, potassium benzoate
, acesulfame potassium
, calcium disodium EDTA and panax ginseng
extract while it does not contain high fructose corn syrup
or sugar
. Pepsi Max also contains nearly double the amount of caffeine. An 8 oz serving of Pepsi contains 25mg of caffeine, where as an 8 oz serving of Pepsi Max contains 46mg. Its formulation of "natural flavor(s)" may or may not be different.
and Italy
in April 1993. The rollout was expanded to Ireland
the following September, and to France
, the Netherlands
and Australia
the following December. By the end of 1994, Pepsi Max was sold in approximately twenty countries. By the end of 1995, that figure had more than doubled. The product remained unavailable in the United States
until only recently (the U.S. is PepsiCo's native market, and the largest consumer of carbonated soft drink
s), where one of its principal ingredients had not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration
. The ingredient in question—acesulfame potassium
—is combined with aspartame
to provide the beverage's sweetness, whereas some other diet colas are sweetened by aspartame alone.
On 28 May 1994, England
's Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park opened the Pepsi Max Big One
steel roller coaster
. At the time, the Pepsi-sponsored attraction was the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster. Both records subsequently were broken elsewhere, but to this date, it still remains the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom
, and one of the tallest and longest coasters in Europe
.
In early 2005, Pepsi Max Twist (with added lemon
-lime
flavour) joined the UK
and Australian product line. In autumn 2005, Pepsi Max Punch was marketed in the UK for the festive season. Containing ginger and cinnamon, the product was similar in flavour to Pepsi Holiday Spice, a sugar-sweetened variety of Pepsi that was marketed in the U.S. one year earlier. In late 2005 and early 2006, a coffee-flavoured variety was introduced in France, Finland
, Ireland, Norway
and the UK. Known as Pepsi Max Cappuccino (Pepsi Max Coffee Cino in the UK), the product is predated by the similar Pepsi Kona (briefly test-marketed
in the U.S. in 1996) and Pepsi Tarik (available in Malaysia since 2005).
Pepsi Max was introduced into South Korea
, Bulgaria
and the Philippines
during 2006, as well as being reintroduced into Argentina
in the spring of 2006 after being phased out after its launch in 1994. As well as this, Pepsi Max was introduced into Brazil
, Egypt
, Jordan
, Lebanon
and the UAE
during early 2007.
A separate formulation of "Pepsi Max" was introduced in the United States
on June 1, 2007 as "Diet Pepsi Max
". Unlike the international beverage, its ingredient label mentions ginseng, and the drink contains nearly twice the caffeine (46 mg vs. 24 mg per 8 fl oz) compared to Diet Pepsi.
In October 2008, Pepsi announced they would be redesigning their logo and re-branding many of their products. Pepsi
, Diet Pepsi
and Pepsi Max uses all lower-case fonts for name brands, Mountain Dew
was renamed "Mtn Dew," and Diet Pepsi Max was re-branded as Pepsi Max. The brand's blue and red globe trademark
became a series of "smiles," with the central white band arcing at different angles depending on the product. The new imagery has started to be used. In the case of Pepsi Max, besides the renaming of the drink to its international name, the logo has a large "smile" likely to emphasize the North American drink's "Wake up people!" advertising campaign, and also uses black
in the bottom half of the globe as opposed to the more standard royal blue
. The new lower-case font used on Pepsi's products are reminiscent of the font used in Diet Pepsi's logo from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. The website for the "Wake up people!" campaign now redirects to the Pepsi Refresh Project
. It is expected that the version of Pepsi Max outside North America will adopt the new logo used by its U.S. / Canada counterpart; this has now occurred in Australia. In the UK, the cans now have the 'pepsi' text and the new pepsi globe (with the normal pepsi 'smile' and the blue bottom half, as opposed to the black half used in the US) but the 'Max' is in the previous style. Pepsi Max is also the sponsor of the #24 NASCAR
driver Jeff Gordon
.
A Pepsi Max Lime version was released in the United States in February 2010 under the name "Pepsi Max Cease Fire". (which later introduced into the UK in late 2011) It was cross-promoted with a new flavor series of Doritos
chips called "Degree Burn". In July 2010, Pepsi began to move its North American branding for Pepsi Max to match its global branding. It now carries a Max typography similar to what is used worldwide, and rolled out a new slogan: "Zero Calories. Maximum Pepsi Taste." Its formula has not been changed. In May 2011, Pepsi introduced the drink to Spain.
s and video games such as Motocross Mania in an attempt to appeal to young men (in contrast to other diet cola drinks, which tend to target young women). The British advertising campaign involved retouched versions of the American "Do the Dew" commercials for Mountain Dew
( Called Mountain Dew Energy in the UK ), rebranded as "Live life to the Max". In December of 2008, advertisements for Pepsi Max that depicted a "very very very lonely" cartoon calorie committing suicide
were run in a German lifestyle magazine, which resulted in a scandal and the revoking of the ads.
Coca-Cola Zero
, a sugar-free cola from the Coca-Cola Company
, is marketed in a similar manner. In the UK some Coke Zero advertising alluded to Pepsi Max, leading to a robust counter-campaign by Pepsi directly extolling the virtues of the concept of "maximum" over that of "zero."
, Pepsi ran a commercial featuring an African-American couple. The woman takes away the fast food that the man is eating and she is about to take away a Pepsi from him but stops when she sees that the soda has no calories. When the man smiles at a blond jogger, the wife throws the Pepsi can at her husband but hits the blond woman. The advertisement has been criticized for promoting racist and sexist stereotypes.
finally received FDA approval. PepsiCo responded within an hour, announcing the introduction of Pepsi ONE (which reached store shelves the following October). This new variety contained the same sweeteners as Pepsi Max, but not an identical formula or flavour. Pepsi ONE was among the twelve brand names that were considered and rejected when creating Pepsi Max.
In early 2005, Pepsi ONE was revised, with Splenda
brand sucralose
replacing the aspartame ingredient.
. Now regarded as a precursor to Pepsi Edge, it was sweetened with a combination of aspartame and high fructose corn syrup
. As a result, it contained 2/3 fewer calories than full-sugar colas (including regular Pepsi), but more calories than conventional diet/light colas (or the version of Pepsi Max sold elsewhere). The Canadian product was discontinued in 2002; the Diet Pepsi Max
product introduced in 2008 has no direct relationship to the earlier formulation.
game Conker's Bad Fur Day
and its Xbox
remake, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Conker
meets a scarecrow named Birdy, who asks for "Mepsipax" in return for a manual.
In the fictional Borat
TV series, a Pepsi Max factory is relatively responsible for the decrease in Kazakhstan
's Aral Sea
.
Calorie
The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat, entering French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
-free cola
Cola
Cola is a carbonated beverage that was typically flavored by the kola nut as well as vanilla and other flavorings, however, some colas are now flavored artificially. It became popular worldwide after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886...
, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
and Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi is a no-calorie carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi-Cola with no sugar. First test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola, it was re-branded as Diet Pepsi the following year, becoming the first diet cola to be distributed on a...
.
It differs from Pepsi in that it contains aspartame
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet; since 2009 it...
, potassium benzoate
Potassium benzoate
Potassium benzoate , the potassium salt of benzoic acid, is a food preservative that inhibits the growth of mold, yeast and some bacteria...
, acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K , and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number E950...
, calcium disodium EDTA and panax ginseng
Ginseng
Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....
extract while it does not contain high fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup — also called glucose-fructose syrup in the UK, glucose/fructose in Canada, and high-fructose maize syrup in other countries — comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce...
or sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. Pepsi Max also contains nearly double the amount of caffeine. An 8 oz serving of Pepsi contains 25mg of caffeine, where as an 8 oz serving of Pepsi Max contains 46mg. Its formulation of "natural flavor(s)" may or may not be different.
History
Pepsi Max debuted in United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in April 1993. The rollout was expanded to Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
the following September, and to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
the following December. By the end of 1994, Pepsi Max was sold in approximately twenty countries. By the end of 1995, that figure had more than doubled. The product remained unavailable in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until only recently (the U.S. is PepsiCo's native market, and the largest consumer of carbonated soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s), where one of its principal ingredients had not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
. The ingredient in question—acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K , and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number E950...
—is combined with aspartame
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet; since 2009 it...
to provide the beverage's sweetness, whereas some other diet colas are sweetened by aspartame alone.
On 28 May 1994, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park opened the Pepsi Max Big One
Pepsi Max Big One
The Big One is a steel roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach Blackpool in the United Kingdom. The ride was originally manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, a now defunct steel coaster manufacturer, and was sponsored by the soft drinks firm Pepsi, under their brand of Pepsi Max until 2011...
steel roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
. At the time, the Pepsi-sponsored attraction was the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster. Both records subsequently were broken elsewhere, but to this date, it still remains the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and one of the tallest and longest coasters in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
In early 2005, Pepsi Max Twist (with added lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
-lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
flavour) joined the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Australian product line. In autumn 2005, Pepsi Max Punch was marketed in the UK for the festive season. Containing ginger and cinnamon, the product was similar in flavour to Pepsi Holiday Spice, a sugar-sweetened variety of Pepsi that was marketed in the U.S. one year earlier. In late 2005 and early 2006, a coffee-flavoured variety was introduced in France, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Ireland, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and the UK. Known as Pepsi Max Cappuccino (Pepsi Max Coffee Cino in the UK), the product is predated by the similar Pepsi Kona (briefly test-marketed
Test market
A test market, in the field of business and marketing, is a geographic region or demographic group used to gauge the viability of a product or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale roll-out...
in the U.S. in 1996) and Pepsi Tarik (available in Malaysia since 2005).
Pepsi Max was introduced into South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
during 2006, as well as being reintroduced into Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the spring of 2006 after being phased out after its launch in 1994. As well as this, Pepsi Max was introduced into Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and the UAE
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
during early 2007.
A separate formulation of "Pepsi Max" was introduced in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on June 1, 2007 as "Diet Pepsi Max
Diet Pepsi Max
-Product information:Pepsi Max contains 69 milligrams of caffeine per 355ml . Diet Pepsi contains 24 milligrams of caffeine per 237ml.-History:...
". Unlike the international beverage, its ingredient label mentions ginseng, and the drink contains nearly twice the caffeine (46 mg vs. 24 mg per 8 fl oz) compared to Diet Pepsi.
In October 2008, Pepsi announced they would be redesigning their logo and re-branding many of their products. Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi is a no-calorie carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi-Cola with no sugar. First test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola, it was re-branded as Diet Pepsi the following year, becoming the first diet cola to be distributed on a...
and Pepsi Max uses all lower-case fonts for name brands, Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
was renamed "Mtn Dew," and Diet Pepsi Max was re-branded as Pepsi Max. The brand's blue and red globe trademark
Pepsi Globe
The Pepsi Globe is the name of the logo for Pepsi, called as such because of the swirling "red, white, & blue" design in a sphere-like shape. It is considered one of the world's most recognizable corporate trademarks...
became a series of "smiles," with the central white band arcing at different angles depending on the product. The new imagery has started to be used. In the case of Pepsi Max, besides the renaming of the drink to its international name, the logo has a large "smile" likely to emphasize the North American drink's "Wake up people!" advertising campaign, and also uses black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
in the bottom half of the globe as opposed to the more standard royal blue
Royal blue
Royal blue describes both a bright shade and a dark shade of azure blue. It is said to have been invented by millers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of which won a competition to make a dress for the British queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz....
. The new lower-case font used on Pepsi's products are reminiscent of the font used in Diet Pepsi's logo from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. The website for the "Wake up people!" campaign now redirects to the Pepsi Refresh Project
Pepsi Refresh Project
The Pepsi Refresh Project is a 2010 initiative by PepsiCo to award $20 million in grants to individuals, businesses and non-profits that promote a new idea that has a positive impact on their community, state, or the nation...
. It is expected that the version of Pepsi Max outside North America will adopt the new logo used by its U.S. / Canada counterpart; this has now occurred in Australia. In the UK, the cans now have the 'pepsi' text and the new pepsi globe (with the normal pepsi 'smile' and the blue bottom half, as opposed to the black half used in the US) but the 'Max' is in the previous style. Pepsi Max is also the sponsor of the #24 NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
.
A Pepsi Max Lime version was released in the United States in February 2010 under the name "Pepsi Max Cease Fire". (which later introduced into the UK in late 2011) It was cross-promoted with a new flavor series of Doritos
Doritos
Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
chips called "Degree Burn". In July 2010, Pepsi began to move its North American branding for Pepsi Max to match its global branding. It now carries a Max typography similar to what is used worldwide, and rolled out a new slogan: "Zero Calories. Maximum Pepsi Taste." Its formula has not been changed. In May 2011, Pepsi introduced the drink to Spain.
Product positioning
Recent UK/Australia Pepsi Max television advertisements have featured the taglines "Maximum taste, no sugar" and "Don't worry, there's no sugar." Some have incorporated extreme sportExtreme sport
An extreme sport is a popular term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger...
s and video games such as Motocross Mania in an attempt to appeal to young men (in contrast to other diet cola drinks, which tend to target young women). The British advertising campaign involved retouched versions of the American "Do the Dew" commercials for Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
( Called Mountain Dew Energy in the UK ), rebranded as "Live life to the Max". In December of 2008, advertisements for Pepsi Max that depicted a "very very very lonely" cartoon calorie committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
were run in a German lifestyle magazine, which resulted in a scandal and the revoking of the ads.
Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to males, who were shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women....
, a sugar-free cola from the Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
, is marketed in a similar manner. In the UK some Coke Zero advertising alluded to Pepsi Max, leading to a robust counter-campaign by Pepsi directly extolling the virtues of the concept of "maximum" over that of "zero."
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Citron Citron Vert | Lemon and Lime flavor; sold in France. |
| Twist | Lemon and lime flavor; sold in the United Kingdom and Argentina, and in the United States lemon flavor. |
| Cease Fire | Lime flavor; sold in North America and Australia, which was cross-promoted with the 3rd Degree Burn flavor of Doritos Doritos Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay .... (Sold as Citrus Freeze in the UK). |
| Punch | Ginger and Cinnamon flavor; sold in the UK during Christmas 2005. Similar to Pepsi Holiday Spice. |
| Cino Cappuccino A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :... |
Coffee flavor; briefly sold in Europe. |
| Cool Lemon | Lemon flavor; sold in Europe. |
| Chill | Apple flavor; sold in Sweden and Finland (limited edition, summer 2007). |
| Mojo | Mint and lime flavor; sold in Finland (limited edition, 2008). Also sold in Denmark until August 2009. |
| Cherry | Cherry flavor; Sold in the UK from 2011. |
| Citrus Freeze | Lime flavor; sold in the UK - marketed alongside Doritos Doritos Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay .... Jalapeño Fire flavor crisps as part of a 2011 promotion, that is similar to the earlier Cease Fire promotion in the US and Australia. |
Suicide
In 2008, Pepsi featured a bean-shaped character simultaneously shooting himself in the head, with a noose round his neck, and poison in his other hand. The bean is supposed to be “one very very very lonely calorie.”Racism
In the 2011 Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, Pepsi ran a commercial featuring an African-American couple. The woman takes away the fast food that the man is eating and she is about to take away a Pepsi from him but stops when she sees that the soda has no calories. When the man smiles at a blond jogger, the wife throws the Pepsi can at her husband but hits the blond woman. The advertisement has been criticized for promoting racist and sexist stereotypes.
Homosexuality
2011 Pepsi Max radio advertisements depict a Coke Zero truck driver with negative gay stereotypes.Pepsi ONE
On 30 June 1998, acesulfame potassiumAcesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K , and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number E950...
finally received FDA approval. PepsiCo responded within an hour, announcing the introduction of Pepsi ONE (which reached store shelves the following October). This new variety contained the same sweeteners as Pepsi Max, but not an identical formula or flavour. Pepsi ONE was among the twelve brand names that were considered and rejected when creating Pepsi Max.
In early 2005, Pepsi ONE was revised, with Splenda
Splenda
Splenda is the commercial name and registered trade mark of a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle. Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, in 1976...
brand sucralose
Sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body and therefore it is non-caloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose , twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3...
replacing the aspartame ingredient.
Canadian formulation
Beginning in early 1994, an entirely different Pepsi Max was marketed in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Now regarded as a precursor to Pepsi Edge, it was sweetened with a combination of aspartame and high fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup — also called glucose-fructose syrup in the UK, glucose/fructose in Canada, and high-fructose maize syrup in other countries — comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce...
. As a result, it contained 2/3 fewer calories than full-sugar colas (including regular Pepsi), but more calories than conventional diet/light colas (or the version of Pepsi Max sold elsewhere). The Canadian product was discontinued in 2002; the Diet Pepsi Max
Diet Pepsi Max
-Product information:Pepsi Max contains 69 milligrams of caffeine per 355ml . Diet Pepsi contains 24 milligrams of caffeine per 237ml.-History:...
product introduced in 2008 has no direct relationship to the earlier formulation.
Popular culture
In the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
game Conker's Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day is an action-platform video game developed and published by Rare. It was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2001 and was Rare's last game published for the console. The game was in development for four years; it was originally intended for a young audience, but was redesigned and...
and its Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
remake, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Conker
Conker
Conkers is a traditional English children's game played using the seeds of horse-chestnut trees – the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself...
meets a scarecrow named Birdy, who asks for "Mepsipax" in return for a manual.
In the fictional Borat
Borat
Borat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
TV series, a Pepsi Max factory is relatively responsible for the decrease in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
's Aral Sea
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
.
Notations
- Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K. Global Marketing Management, John Wiley & Sons, 2004. ISBN 0-471-23062-6
External links
- http://www.pepsimax.com.ar/Pepsi Max (ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
)] - http://www.pepsimax.com.au/Pepsi Max (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
)] - http://www.pepsimax.com.br/Pepsi Max (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
)] - http://www.pepsi.co.uk/Pepsi Max (United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
)] - PepsiCo
- Pepsi Max page on PepsiCo UK & Ireland