In the cutthroat world of marketing, where brands strive for supremacy, a different kind of battle unfolds—one filled with humor, wit, and outrageous tactics.
Join us as we delve into the funny side of these epic battles, exploring the unconventional strategies that have propelled brands to the top and left us all laughing in the process.
The most well known is: Coca Cola Vs Pepsi
A beverage battle between Coke and PepsiCo has never been more polarizing. This famous rivalry between these two soda companies is often referred to as the Cola Wars in marketing history. The history of both mega brands is crucial to understanding how the ferocious rivalry developed.
PepsiCo was founded in 1893, while Coca-Cola was founded in 1886.
The Pepsi Challenge was the first attempt by PepsiCo to take on Coke in 1975, by introducing a marketing campaign called the “Pepsi Challenge.” This involved blind taste tests between people, which favored the PepsiCo soda.
Especially after Coke changed their formula and launched “New Coke” in 1985, PepsiCo seemed to have Coke beat for at least a decade.
The tides turned, however, after PepsiCo’s biggest stars began having headline problems. Michael Jackson’s hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial. David Bowie was involved in a sexual assault scandal while under PepsiCo’s contract. Additionally, Pepsi used “Like a Prayer” in a commercial that was received as blasphemy at the time. Finally, at least 20 states began finding syringes in blue cans in 1993.
According to most experts, the Cola Wars officially ended in 2011 when Diet Coke displaced Pepsi as the world’s second most popular soft drink.
Wycon vs Kiko
There has always been a lot of competition between Kiko and Wycon that resulted in a real lawsuit
As well as that, they had a legal battle some years ago over Kiko accusing Wycon of copying the shop’s design. Kiko won it because the court felt Kiko’s style was more original and beautiful than Wycon’s. In 2015, the Milan Court of Appeal ruled Wycon could not use store decor elements similar to Kiko Milano’s shops and ordered Wycon to pay 716,250 euros in damages to Kiko
BMW and Audi
A billboard erected in Santa Monica fired off a savage shot heard around the world between BMW and Audi.
The famous billboard feud is broken down as follows:
- On Santa Monica Blvd, Audi displays a billboard announcing its new A4 with the message, “Your move, BMW.”
- The Santa Monica BMW buys a billboard opposite Audi with an M3 Coupe and the message, “Checkmate.
- Audi invites fans to photoshop their responses onto their next billboard.
- On the same side as BMWs with an R8, Audi places a billboard with the message, “Your pawn is no match for our king.”
- Afterwards, BMW attached a blimp to the billboard featuring the F1 car and the message “Game Over.”
When it comes to marketing your brand, humor can be a powerful tool. It can create an emotional connection with your audience and make your message more memorable. But, as with any tool, if used improperly, it can backfire.
So before you put on your clown shoes and start joking around with your brand messaging, take some time to learn from those who have made mistakes (so you don’t have to) and find out how to avoid common pitfalls when using humor in marketing communications.
