The Super Bowl ads are often intended to get people talking. One way to do that, is with a good old rivalry.
At this year’s Super Bowl, Pepsi surprised audiences with an ad in which it revived its longstanding rivalry with Coca-Cola.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been in a longstanding provocative advertising dispute for decades. Arguably, it has become a shared branding strategy.
This year, for the 2026 Super Bowl, Pepsi went with a commercial promoting its Zero Sugar drink through a revamped version of the “Pepsi Challenge.” The commercial featured a polar bear, which audiences recognize as figurehead of the competition, blindfolded, with two soda cans on the table in front of him: one Pepsi and the other Coca-Cola.
In the commercial, titled “The Choice,” the polar bear is clearly performing a taste test comparing Pepsi Zero Sugar and Coca-Cola. After pointing out the better option, the blindfold is removed and the polar bear is shocked to see that he chose Pepsi, generating an emotional conflict for the polar bear.
The Pepsi company says that they do not seek to promote confrontation; but rather that, over the years, both companies have shown their talent for advertising and creativity while fighting to stay in the mind of consumers.
If you were blindfolded and presented with this taste test, which would you choose?
Original Writing by: Gabriela Carmona Rivera