Pepsi sues Coke over Gatorade sledging campaign
Pepsi’s Energy Brands unit accuses Coke of "false advertising, trademark dilution, deceptive acts and practices, injury to business reputation and unfair competition" under US trademark law.
It added that Coke’s Powerade ION4 print and billboard campaign, which ran for two weeks, was "a calculated, intentional strategy designed to falsely and viciously attack the readily identifiable market leader, Gatorade, in the hopes of unfairly gaining precious market share. It is critical that the court put an end to defendants’ deception at once.”
Powerade commands 22 percent of a US sports drink market that is dominated by Gatorade which controls 77 percent of the market.
Electrolyte attack
The campaign featured images of Gatorade bottles severed in two accompanied by catch-phrases such as: "Don't settle for an incomplete sports drink".
Coke claims Powerade ION4 contains calcium and magnesium, and is therefore superior to Gatorade, but Pepsi told Bloomberg News there was, “More calcium and magnesium are found in most tap water.”
It says there is no evidence that the presence of these two minerals in trace amounts makes Powerade a better drink.
Pepsi’s suit, via its Stokely-Van Camp division and filed in a Manhattan federal court, demands that Coke cease its "escalating" campaign and seeks financial compensation.
Coke failed to enter into any detail about the court suit, saying only in a statement that, "We stand behind our product and are prepared to defend the role Powerade plays in hydrating consumers."
