Sports drinks duke it out.(Coca-Cola's Powerade and Pepsi-Cola's Gatorade go to court over brand advertising)(Brief article)

Beverage Industry, April, 2006

Coca-Cola's Powerade and Pepsi-Cola's Gatorade went head to head last month in a lawsuit over brand advertising. At issue was a Powerade Option ad that featured a "drag race" between horse-drawn carts, one of which was carrying 10 bales of hay and the other 50. The message was that 10-calorie Option allowed the 10-bale horse to win the race over the 50-calorie competitor.

The lawsuit argued the ad sent the message that Powerade was more effective as a sports drink, as well as containing fewer calories. The matter was resolved in a matter of days, with Coca-Cola agreeing to modify the ad.