Pepsi Max (North America)

This article is about the North American version of Pepsi Max. For the version sold outside of North America, see Pepsi Max.

Pepsi Max

Type	Diet Cola
Manufacturer	PepsiCo, Inc.
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	2007
Related products	Pepsi Max, Pepsi ONE, Diet Pepsi

Pepsi Max (known as Diet Pepsi Max until early 2009), is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, carbohydrate-free, ginseng-infused cola, marketed by PepsiCo. It has nearly twice the caffeine of Pepsi's other cola beverages.^[1] Pepsi used airtime during Super Bowl XLII to advertise the beverage; the commercial featured the song What is Love by Haddaway, and showed people sleeping in inappropriate places and at inappropriate times, while bobbing their heads to the rhythm of the song. Pepsi Max's current slogan in the US is "Maximum taste. Zero calories.". In July 2010 Pepsi Max had a commercial remake from the 1995 diner commercial. The commercial includes the song "Why can't we be friends?" by War. In 2011, Snoop Dogg was featured in an ad campaign around the time of the Super Bowl XLV.

Pepsi Max

Nutritional value per serving
Serving size	8 fl oz
Energy	?
Potassium	0 mg (0%)
Sodium	25 mg (2%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

Product information

Pepsi Max contains 69 milligrams of caffeine per 355ml (12 fl oz). Diet Pepsi contains 24 milligrams of caffeine per 237ml.^[2]

History

Diet Pepsi Max was introduced in the United States on June 1, 2007 and in Canada in March, 2008. "Diet" was dropped from the name in early 2009.

Marketing

Pepsi Max competes in the energy drink market.^{[citation needed]} Compared with other common energy drinks, Pepsi Max gives the consumer a relatively low dose of caffeine. Pepsi Max provides 5.75 mg caffeine per 30ml, while Red Bull provides 9.64 mg/30ml, AMP Energy provides 8.93 mg/30ml, Monster Energy provides 10 mg/30ml and Cocaine (drink) provides 33.14 mg/30ml.

The product is marketed as an 'Invigorating Cola' implying it is meant to compete in the energy drink market.^{[citation needed]} The official marketing website for Pepsi Max,^[3] contains an 'odd cast' featuring a spoofed telethon urging viewers to donate yawns and uses the slogan 'WAKE UP PEOPLE'.^[4] Also, there was a featured commercial of a spoof on the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator yawning, when calling a play, thus, causing Tony Romo to be sacked, he was then replaced by Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones who gives him a Diet Pepsi Max. The scene then cuts away to the words "WAKE UP PEOPLE" while a voiceover shouts the slogan.

Although technically a competitor in the energy drink market, Pepsi Max commercials present the beverage as an alternative to Diet Pepsi.

After the 2009 Super Bowl commercial aired, another, more recent campaign (including television and radio advertisements) has emphasized that the product is intended to be a men's diet cola. In one commercial, entitled "I'm Good," men are shown in various dangerous and painful situations, and after each brief sequence, the "injured" actor states, "I'm good!" The take-away message is that men can handle anything, except for the taste of the average diet cola. Pepsi Max is intended to be the diet cola that men will enjoy. Another commercial entitled "Ingredients" shows men in various situations listing fictitious ingredients that essentially make Pepsi Max seem "tough." The fictitious ingredients include pepper spray (as a sweetener), scorpion venom, crushed Viking bones, and the saliva of a rabid wolverine. The actors also state that the can is made from the hull of a nuclear submarine, and subsequently crush the cans in their bare hands, stating, "I just crushed the hull of a nuclear submarine." This commercial ends with "Maximum Taste, No Sugar, and Maybe Scorpion Venom. Pepsi Max, the First Diet Cola for Men," signaling a definitively different message than the one used in the "WAKE UP PEOPLE" advertisements. These more recent commercials have portrayed Pepsi Max consumers as unremarkable, average, and heavy men, explicitly identifying the target market.

In early 2010 Pepsi released a limited edition called "Pepsi Max Cease Fire". It is Diet Pepsi Lime in the Pepsi Max formula, and is being cross-promoted with Doritos Burn flavors. In July 2010, Pepsi Max was once again redesigned, this time to match its global branding. In the process, Pepsi Max began using the medium-sized "smile". The "Max" typeface was changed to appear similar to what is used worldwide, and a distorted blue background borders the Pepsi globe.

A can of Pepsi Max in the current design (July 2010-present)

In 2011, Snoop Dogg was featured in an ad campaign around the time of the Super Bowl XLV.

4-time NASCAR champion driver Jeff Gordon, who has traditionally driven a Pepsi paint scheme twice a year, is scheduled to run a Pepsi Max scheme twice in 2010: February at Las Vegas and October at Auto Club.

Coca Cola produces Pepsi Max's primary competing product, Coke Zero, another zero calorie soda.^[5]

Ingredient List

Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Phosphoric acid, Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate, Caffeine, Natural flavor, Acesulfame potassium, Citric acid, Calcium disodium EDTA, Panax ginseng extract.

See also

• List of energy drinks
• List of Pepsi types

References

1. ^ Lippert, Barbara. "Diet Pepsi Max: You Snooze, You Lose", Adweek, June 26, 2007. Accessed July 9, 2007. "A cross between a cola and an energy drink, it contains twice the caffeine of regular Diet Pepsi and a touch of ginseng for the je ne sais quoi."
2. ^ Pepsi USA - What's in Diet Pepsi Max?, Pepsi USA product information page. Accessed July 13, 2007.
3. ^ Diet Pepsi Max
4. ^ "DIET PEPSI MAX SAYS "WAKE UP, PEOPLE!"appeared" (Press release). PepsiCo. 2007-06-25. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=78265&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1019123&highlight=. Retrieved 2007-07-09. 
5. ^ "Pepsi chief predicts a challenging year appeared". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-02-20. http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/coke/stories/2008/02/20/pepsi_0221.html. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 

External links

• PepsiCo