The Pepsi Contest That Turned into a Deadly Disaster

Pepsi's Number Fever Campaign in the Philippines was one of the most disastrous marketing failures in history decades ago. But this promotion campaign by Pepsi to increase sales turned out to be a big disaster.

The Philippines is an archipelago with thousands of islands. It is also a strongly influenced country by the United States. The influence of American culture may be found all across the Philippines. For example, they are huge fans of Frank Sinatra's music. They adore everything about the United States. In the 1990s, this adoration migrated to American soft beverages such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The battle between Pepsi and Coca-Cola is now known as the Cola War. They were engaged in a vigorous war for market dominance. Number Fever was already a well-known promotion. Pepsi chose to expand the same concept abroad, particularly in Asia, when it became a huge success in the United States. They believed it was the solution to all of their issues.

They also believed it would aid them in defeating their main opponents. In the Philippines, Pepsi aired its promotion on TV. “You can be a millionaire. There will be a number inside the bottle caps of the Pepsi you drink. Keep it. Maybe, you will be the winner. Collect more bottle caps. increase your chances of winning. That was the advertisement. One million pesos (about $68,000)! Many of you who purchase Duty-free Millionaire tickets or other Lottery tickets may believe that this isn't a huge deal. That, however, is not the case. In those days, it was a sum that could never be earned in the life of an ordinary person. Not only that; the average income of a person in the Philippines in 1992 was just $ 100. When you know that the average income in 2020 is around $ 1000, you will understand the size of that prize money. Pepsi's Number Fever campaign ignited. The kids began saving their pocket money to purchase a bottle of Pepsi. Parents began to keep all bottle caps in bags. Many people walk down the street looking for abandoned bottle caps.

As a result, it became a national sensation. Pepsi claims that Number fever affects half of the population in the Philippines. Pepsi's monthly sales increased from $ 10 million to $ 14 million. However, the number fever in the Philippines has skyrocketed. Domestic servants have even been imprisoned for stealing a bag of Pepsi bottle caps held by employers. Many people attempted to deceive people by disseminating rumors about the incorrect winning number. People began fighting in the streets for the popular Pepsi bottle caps, which resulted in a few murders. Earlier, there were indications that there could be many problems due to Number Fever. In Chile, Pepsi ran a similar promotion. Confusion over facts prompted issues with the winning number, which resulted in the declaration of the incorrect winning number, which sparked riots in Chile.

As a result, there were warning signs that major issues could occur if promotions were not handled seriously. Pepsi planned to expand its campaign in the Philippines in 1992. They declared that the promotion campaign would continue for a few weeks longer. Finally, the winner was to be announced. The winning number was announced on a television channel one night. That was Three Four Nine. The issue is that they have done this promotion in many nations. Pepsi had produced a large number of bottles with the same number, as Three Four Nine had previously been designated as an unsuccessful number.

Thousands of bottles were also imported to the Philippines. Thousands of people across the Philippines discovered the winning number, or Three Four Nine printed bottle caps, in their possession. Some people received ten winning number caps. They began to dance in the street. The winners believed that all of their problems had been solved. They became millionaires. Nobody knew how many people earned the lucky number Three Four Nine. Hundreds of people began arriving at Pepsi plants with their successful number of bottle caps. With that, Pepsi knew it had made a huge error. However, Pepsi realized that the identical number may have been printed on over 600,000 bottles. Pepsi attempted to remedy the problem by providing a little token to everyone who brought lucky bottle caps to their bottling plant. But it wasn't enough.

People were desperate for their million pesos prize. Within a year, dozens of people were injured and five were killed in violent protests and riots outside Pepsi factories. Protesters throw a grenade at a Pepsi factory in the Philippines. Three Pepsi employees were killed in it. Sita Rosario, a schoolteacher from the Manila area, was another victim. She was on her way to a neighboring grocery to buy rice. Meanwhile, someone threw a petrol bomb at a Pepsi truck, which fell under the track and exploded, during a violent protest outside. It took her life as well as the life of an innocent child. Cita Rosario's husband went to see the Pepsi executive after that occurrence. The officer was enraged and acted inappropriately. “If you hadn't had Number Fever, none of this would have occurred. I would not have lost my wife.” He sobbed and departed. He hasn't had another marriage since, and he still lives in the shadow of that tragedy. The biggest news with this was the rumors that Pepsi had bombed its own trucks.

Newspaper headlines reported that Pepsi goons were planting bombs in their trucks. The Philippine Police Department has interviews and records of people who allege to have been paid by Pepsi to incite riots and disruptions outside Pepsi factories. It was terrifying. However, Pepsi has refuted all of this. It's surprising that a firm has been accused of bombing its trucks. In the Philippines, the Number Fever Campaign sparked widespread outrage. The main reason for that is that it brought the Philippines to a very strange time in their history. It was during a crazy presidential election that erupted with allegations of fraud. They were enamored with American aid and money pouring into the country. Vincent Del Fierro, a local preacher living in Manila, hated Pepsi's number fever campaign.

He said that Pepsi's number fever campaign was simply one of many tactics for the US to dominate a third-world country. He didn't like how this massive international American corporation was expanding by squeezing his friends. "Pepsi, they kill softly" are his famous words. He wanted them to get justice. He has partnered with over 800 winners, and to disburse the prizes, he sued Pepsi for $ 400 million in damages. He only collected 500 pesos from individuals who could afford it to cover legal charges. Del Fierro eventually flew to the United States, where he engaged two notable consumer attorneys and decided to sue Pepsi in federal court. The majority of US courts have ruled that the case should be heard in the Philippines, not in the US. Del Fierro returned to the Philippines and continued with the lawsuit. At one point, nine Pepsi executives were served with arrest warrants.

He thought it was a huge success. But Pepsi showed no mercy for Del Fierro's campaign. They attempted to break him. They filed a lawsuit, claiming disdain for Pepsi. In connection with this, he was required to attend hearings more than six times every month. Meanwhile, he had a heart attack and was brought to the hospital. Nonetheless, he attended the hearing in the meanwhile. Otherwise, a warrant for his arrest would have been issued by the court. Del Fiero died of a heart attack on January 13, 2010, after a year in the hospital. The corporation lost huge sums of money as a result of the Number Fever campaign catastrophe.

They made conciliatory payments totaling up to $ 10 million. However, the economic ramifications will be far-reaching. Pepsi sales decreased in the aftermath of this tragedy. Coca-Cola has once again surpassed Pepsi. The Pepsi Number Fever tragedy significantly changed the soft drink tradition in the Philippines. Some people of a certain age do not touch it today. For many people, the word "Pepsi" is frowned upon. The winners who are still alive today are attempting to live up to the experience of winning a million pesos, losing it, and then returning to their usual lives in poverty in the Philippines.