Pepsi takes on Coca-Cola in football season ad frenzyBy Sangetta Mulchand

Pepsi's launch comes just 10 days after Coca-Cola unveiled its own 'Cheer sanan loke' ('Cheer with the football-crazy') campaign. All 32 matches of Europe's largest sporting event will be broadcast on television channels 3 and 7 during the June 12 to 14 championship. Pepsi's campaign took off with a 60-second TVC entitled 'Foot battle'. Set against a medieval backdrop, the ad has football stars David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Raul Gonzalez and Francesco Totti challenge 'bad guys' to the ultimate clash of the titans to prevent them from stealing the town's supply of Pepsi. What follows is a showcase of dazzling football skills. The TVC will eventually be reduced to a 30-second version, supported by print, posters, point-of-sales material and sales promotions. Pepsi expects the campaign to deliver a five per cent increase in sales. Coca-Cola's 30-second TVC 'Thai kids', meanwhile, features four youngsters earlier selected to travel to Portugal as flag bearers for participating national teams. They are part of a group of 496 football players and fans from around the world that Coca-Cola has been allowed to select as part of its sponsorship contract. Coke's campaign "incorporates elements that are made possible because Coca-Cola is the official soft drink sponsor for UEFA Euro 2004", said marketing manager Chuenhathai Vuntanadit. "This is a primary differentiator be-tween ourselves and our competition." 'Thai kids' is backed by radio spots, print ads, TV tie-ins and PR activities. Coca-Cola is also scheduled to launch another 15-second TVC based on its Euro 2004 sponsorship. Thailand's carbonated soft drink market was worth 30 billion baht last year, with colas accounting for 70 per cent of sales.