Main points
- Pepsi used the polar bear, Coca-Cola's mascot, in its 2026 Super Bowl commercial to show how it chooses Pepsi over Coca-Cola.
- The commercial, directed by Taika Waititi, is based on the real-life Pepsi Challenge 2025, where 66% of participants preferred Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
Pepsi trolled Coca-Cola by using its mascot / Pepsi
Pepsi has released its 2026 Super Bowl commercial, featuring the famous Coca-Cola mascot, the polar bear. The joke is that the character in the ad doesn't choose the company whose mascot he is, but a competitor, Pepsi.
How does Pepsi troll Coca-Cola in advertising?
The ad, titled “The Choice,” is about a polar bear, People writes.
He supposedly participates in the Pepsi Challenge and is surprised to learn that during the blindfolded tasting, he preferred Pepsi Zero Sugar to Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
Then, according to the press release, the bear embarks on a “journey of self-discovery,” embracing “his newfound identity as a Pepsi lover.”
Polar bear commercial / YouTube Pepsi
Trolling involves using polar bears as mascots for Coca-Cola . The animated characters have been a popular element of Coca-Cola advertising since 1993, and the company sells merchandise such as tumblers and plush versions of the bears.
By the way, Oscar winner Taika Waititi became the director of Pepsi's advertising, who filmed the commercial for the Queen song “I Want to Break Free” and also starred in a cameo role as a polar bear therapist.
According to Pepsi, the idea for the bear tasting came from real-world data from the 2025 Pepsi Challenge.
- Last year, the company conducted the Pepsi Challenge in 34 markets, and 66% of participants preferred Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in tastings .
- Demonstrating the brand's success, Reina noted that Pepsi Zero Sugar had 30.8% growth in the Zero Sugar category in 2025.
The marketing manager explained that the polar bear in the ad is “just another Pepsi fan who represents the vast majority of Americans.”
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Coca-Cola advertising scandal
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Coca-Cola has come under fire for using artificial intelligence to create its traditional Christmas commercial this year. It's a bit crooked and at times clearly betrays AI.
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A Reddit user reworked the ad, adding explosions and madness, garnering support and jokes about a “director's cut.”
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The company hired three AI studios to create the ads, instead of human artists, which caused discontent among artists and ordinary viewers. Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch wrote: “Fun fact: Coca-Cola is red because it is made from the blood of unemployed artists.”