On Friday, Pepsi is launching a 30-second telefilm called `Sawan Aayo' to spread the word on the 1.5 litre price-drop. The film uses a peppy folk beat and shows rain washing away the old price of Rs 40 from a Pepsi hoarding and reveals the new price. The film is designed to carry forward the Pepsi theme of Yeh Dil Maange More, and links up the 1.5 litre with monsoon fun: eating crisp fritters and singing and dancing in therain.

The 1.5 litre PET segment accounts for three to four per cent of the total soft drink market in the country. Pepsi first introduced the product in 1996 at a price of Rs 30. The price rose progressively to Rs 35 and later Rs 38 in 1996--and finally touched Rs 40 in early 1997. Diet Pepsi, which was introduced last fortnight in the 1.5 litre PET bottle, is also priced at Rs 35.

Recently, during the World Cup, Coke targetted home consumption of its cola through a special offer: at that time the 1.5 litre PET bottle was sold for Rs 40 but came with a free pack of Top Ramen noodles, which cost Rs 10. The Coke-Top Raman offer closed in the third week of June 1999. However, with Summer '99 proving to be a damp squib for the soft drinks industry, the cola brands are once again targetting home-consumption aggressively, by using the monsoon slack season as an excuse to drop prices.

Pepsi launches football promo in West Bengal

To promote its cola brand in interior West Bengal, Pepsi is launching anunder-the-crown (UTC) promo linked to the Manchester United Football Club. Called ``Bado Teshta Manchesta'', the promotion will require consumers to collect three crowns of the 300 ml Pepsi bottle, each carrying one word of the slogan, to be eligible for the first prize: a trip to England to see a Manchester United match and later, visit the locker room and chat with stars like David Beckham.

The promotion will run in West Bengal from July 11 to August 30, 1999-and if found successful, may be extended to other football-loving states like Kerala and Goa.

While price is being used to push the 1.5 litre PET across the country, Pepsi is depending on the Bado Teshta Manchesta promotion to push the sales of its 300 ml bottle in football-crazy West Bengal. While the first prize is a trip to England, 10 LG televisions are being given away as the second prize. In addition, there are 12,000 other prizes consisting of football booklets, football kitbags, and special Pepsi football jerseys.

Currently, Calcuttaaccounts for 80 per cent of all soft drinks sales, while the rest of the state has very low per capital consumption. The Pepsi promotion therefore, will try to generate interest in its brand in towns like Siliguri, Kharagpur, Jaipaiguri, Malda, Bahrampur, Burdwan, Durgapur, Bunkura and Puralia.

While Thums Up is the leading brand in West Bengal, through this offer Pepsi hopes to not just boost 300 ml sales but also increase brand awareness and brand penetration.