About this episode
April 23, 1985. The CEO of Coca-Cola steps up to a podium in New York City and commits the most spectacular marketing blunder of the 20th century: He changes a 99-year-old formula.Across town, Pepsi CEO Roger Enrico gives his employees the day off, popping champagne because he believes Coke has finally surrendered. He was dead wrong.In this episode of Corporate Wars, we tear down the century-long blood feud for America’s throat. This isn’t just a story about soda. It’s a masterclass in market share, addiction, and corporate hubris.You will learn:How two pharmacists built global monopolies from a soda fountain—and died with nothing.The brutal psychological warfare of the blind "Pepsi Challenge."Why Pepsi spent $5 million to set Michael Jackson’s hair on fire.The sheer absurdity of the Arnell Group’s $1 million, 27-page design document that justified Pepsi's 2008 logo using the "gravitational pull of the Earth."Coke won the war of memory. Pepsi won the battle of cool. Listen to find out how the 79-day "New Coke" panic accidentally proved everything right.
