War isn’t a topic that often appears in marketing news - unless it’s a war between brands. The most famous rivalry in marketing is set to be revived next week as Pepsi releases an updated version of a famous 1995 ad which was at the heart of the ‘cola wars’.

The original ad played upon the fierce rivalry between the two brands during the 1990′s. It featured two truck drivers for Pepsi and Cola who meet in a roadside diner, where they bonded over a song on the jukebox. Now friends the two truckers exchange their drinks, each trying the rival brand for the first time.

However as this was an advert and not an armistice, the moment of reconciliation was soon spoiled as the Coca Cola driver likes the Pepsi so much he refuses to hand it back. A fight ensues and after a chair is thrown out of the diner’s window, the strapline “Nothing else is a Pepsi” appears at the end.

The updated advert, “Diner 2.0″ takes this theme and updates it with two new drivers in the same setting. In the background, the song “Why can’t we be friends?” plays from the jukebox. This time the two men exchange cans of Pepsi Max and Coke Zero, the two brand’s low-calorie offerings.

A fight still ensues but the reason behind it is a little different; when the Coke driver starts drinking from the Pepsi can, the other driver pulls out a mobile phone and starts filming the driver and says he is uploading the video to YouTube. Once more the two fight and the advert ends with them crashing through the window as the strapline “Zero Calories: Maximum Pepsi taste” appears.

Related posts:

1. New Coke Zero campaign fizzes up Cola brand battle
2. Coca-Cola drops Wayne Rooney from marketing campaign
3. Coca-Cola threatens small Hampshire restaurant over ‘Relentless’ sign
4. Coca-Cola unveils Christmas campaign
5. Sprite's global campaign to avoid UK