A bidding war for a movie about the history of Coca-Cola and Pepsi has completely divided the internet.
Hollywood is in the age of consumerism. With movies like Barbie and Super Mario Bros. among the highest-grossing movies of all time, it’s no wonder brands are lining up to tell their stories on the big screen.
Just last year, we featured Affleck’s Damon collaboration “Air,” about Nike’s battle to sponsor Michael Jordan in the fierce sneaker wars. Now, two well-known soda companies are stepping in: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.
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The two brands have competed for decades, with Coca-Cola always beating out its blue and red rivals. Sony is reportedly paying seven figures for the new movie, which is now in theaters and will tell the story of the “Coke Wars” of the 1980s. Needless to say, fans are pretty divided on this one.
A Coca-Cola and Pepsi movie is in the works
According to Deadline , Sony offered approximately $1.5 million to participate in Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s promotional campaign called “Cola Wars,” which focused on Pepsi’s mission to overthrow Coca-Cola as the world’s top cola.
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“From Michael Jackson’s serious accident to the fiasco of New Coke, this behind-the-scenes story tells the ultimate and underdog story of history’s most iconic No. 2 contenders in their bid for No. 1,” the report states.
In part, the industry has been laying the groundwork for a movie centered around Coca-Cola’s rivalry with PepsiCo. These two soda companies have been in the spotlight since product placement became a concept. With movies like “Wayne’s World,” “World War Z” and (most recently) “Mrs. Wayne,” PepsiCo has been fighting for its screen presence.
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However, Coca-Cola may also beat them here. “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Stranger Things” all feature the iconic drink. In fact, New Coke’s influence on Stranger Things was so effective that the company even re-introduced a batch of their famously discontinued drink.
Jason Schulman and Ben Quinn will write the script for “Coke Wars,” and Sony executive Maya Ayer will direct.
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Coke wars divide the internet
After hearing about the promotion for Coke Wars, movie buffs were quick to express some very different opinions on social media.
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Some were quick to express their disappointment, feeling that another movie about a well-known brand lacked imagination.
“Is this really worth a whole movie?” an X user asked, while other Said sarcastically: “There are so many movies about BRANDS, BRANDS is our real hero, we all like BRANDS, we all want to be friends with BRANDS.”
“ENOUGH!!! CORPORATE MOVIE!!! I don’t care about brands, I care about people’s stories.” Wrote the third.
Elsewhere, other reviews don’t seem as focused on the negatives. Instead, they joked about what the movie would eventually look like and even cracked a few Marvel jokes.
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“Jacob Elordi plays Coca-Cola and Barry Keoghan plays Pepsi.” a user wrote.
“They’ll be teasing Dr. Pepper like Thanos in the end credits.” another said.other continue Marvel-themed, joked: “As I stayed to watch the closing credits, Sprite stood up and said, ‘I’m building a team…'”
Of course, on top of that, there’s a lot of Coke vs. Pepsi debate. …the cola wars appear to be continuing.