Ad battles fail to push cola brands up in poll

NEW DELHI: Despite last summer's spending spree and advertising

battles waged in court, the cola giants only made it as high as the

fourth spot in a survey of India's most trusted brands conducted by The

Economic Times.

Thums Up, Coca-Cola's local brand in India, emerged as the fourth most

trusted brand, the highest placing earned by a drinks brand in the

survey.

Lux had the highest trust rating followed by Colgate and Rin, a

detergent.

Coco-Cola managed an eighth placing, while Pepsi had to content itself

with its ninth position. The survey found Coke and Thums Up ahead of

Pepsi in the east, west and northern markets. Pepsi was well ahead of

both brands in the south - it placed fifth against Thums Up's 15th and

Coke's 16th position.

The findings will come as a further disappointment to Pepsi India, which

had billed 2001 as the year when it would break even after eight years

in the country. Instead, one of the mildest summers in a 100 years has

seen cola sales nosedive. ButPepsiCo's new president Indra Nooyi is not

discouraged. "We are continuing to invest in India as an act of faith,"

she said.

Commenting on the survey, Pepsi trotted out findings of the Indian

Market Research Bureau, which placed its share at 51 per cent against

Coke and Thums Up's combined 49 per cent share. The soft drinks market

in India is estimated at a little over US$1 billion, 60 per cent

going to colas.

The story is equally grim for Coke, which wrote off US$405

million in India last year. Coke's India president and chief executive

Alexander von Behr said the company would turn a profit this year, but

sceptics argued that it would take another five years.

Coke blamed its lag in the south, as noted in the survey, to the

market's preference for its other brands - Sprite and Fanta.

Coke and Pepsi have been waging a ferocious battle, using every possible

medium, including the courts. In March, Pepsi took Thums Up to court,

alleging that it had insinuated that Pepsi was the choice of babies.

The Leo Burnett campaign had taglines such as "Still getting toys for

your birthday? It's not your fault. It's your cola." According to Coke,

the "Grow up to Thums Up" campaign was created for the youth segment and

played up the brand's "grown-up taste".

Pepsi has since unveiled its "Dark Avenger" campaign, fronted by movie

star Amitabh Baachan, who is enjoying a new burst of popularity with his

hosting of Star India's top-rated Who Wants to be a Millionaire

show.

Stuck for growth, both players may find that their main chance lies in

the $149 million mineral water market, although it has more than

1,000 local brands. But Ramesh Chauhan, owner of market leader Bisleri,

predicted that this category would outstrip colas in three years' time.

Chauhan had earlier sold Thums Up to Coke.

Additional reporting by Praveer Shukla.