Pepsi Number Fever

Pepsi Number Fever,[1] also known as the 349 incident,[2] was a promotion held by PepsiCo in the Philippines in 1992, which led to riots[3] and the deaths of at least five people.[4]

Pepsi Number Fever
DateFebruary – May 25, 1992
LocationPhilippines
Also known as349 incident
TypeSales promotion
OutcomeMarket share of Pepsi in the Philippines initially increased from 4% to 24.9%. Later riots and protests due to multiple Pepsi products "349" bottle caps, the winning number for the ₱1 million prize, distributed
Deathsat least 5

Promotion

In February,[2] Pepsi Philippines (PCPPI) announced that they would print numbers, ranging from 001 to 999,[5] inside the bottle caps of all Pepsi bottles, with some numbers eligible to be redeemed for prizes ranging from 100 pesos (roughly US$4) to a grand prize of 1,000,000 pesos (roughly US$40,000 at the time).[6] For comparison, the legal minimum wage in the Philippines at the time was 118 pesos/day, meaning the grand prize represented around 23 years' of earnings.[7] Pepsi allocated a total of US$2 million for prizes.[4] The promotion scheme was developed by Latin American marketing expert Pedro Vergara back in December 1991. Similar promotion schemes were conducted with moderate success in Latin American countries.[8]

The promotion was initially wildly successful, with Pepsi's market share increasing from 4% to 24.9%.[4] Winning numbers were announced nightly on television, and by May 51,000 prizes had been redeemed, including 17 grand prizes.[6]

Number 349

On May 25, the nightly Channel 2 News broadcast announced that the day's winning number for 1 million pesos was 349.[6] However, in addition to the two intended winning caps printed with special security codes, 800,000 regular bottle caps containing the winning number had been printed and distributed,[3][6] theoretically worth $32 billion.[4]

Thousands of people rushed to Pepsi bottling plants to claim their prize.[9] After an emergency meeting at 3 AM,[6] PCPPI instead offered a "gesture of good will" of 500 pesos ($18),[10][11] which was eventually redeemed by 486,170 people,[12] costing the company ₱240 million ($8.9 million).[12]

Many were unhappy with Pepsi's decision, and a consumer group called the 349 Alliance was soon formed to protest it through a boycott of Pepsi products and rallies outside PepsiCo and government offices. While most protests were peaceful, a grenade thrown into a Pepsi warehouse in Davao killed three employees,[13] and on February 13, 1993, a mother and child were killed by a grenade thrown by a protester towards a Pepsi truck in Manila.[14] Pepsi executives received death threats and up to 37 Pepsi trucks were also torched, stoned or turned over.[6]

Lawsuits

About 22,000 people filed at least 689 civil suits and 5,200 criminal complaints for fraud and deception against PepsiCo.[1] On June 24, 1996, a trial court awarded each of the plaintiffs of one of these lawsuits ₱10,000 each in "moral damages".[12] Three plaintiffs unhappy with the decision appealed, and on July 3, 2001, the appellate court awarded them an increased sum of ₱30,000 plus attorneys fees.[12] This decision was in turn appealed by PCPPI, and the Supreme Court eventually decreed in 2006 that "PCPPI is not liable to pay the amounts printed on the crowns to their holders. Nor is PCPPI liable for damages thereon."[12] and that "the issues surrounding the 349 incident have been laid to rest and must no longer be disturbed in this decision."[2]

References
  1. Drogin, Bob (26 July 1993). "Pepsi-Cola Uncaps A Lottery Nightmare -- Bombings, Threats Follow Contest With Too Many Winners". Los Angeles Times. Seattle Times Company. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. "SC decides in finality on 'Pepsi 349' case". The Philippine Star. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. Mickolus, Edward F.; Simmons, Susan L. (1997). Terrorism, 1992-1995: A Chronology of Events and a Selectively Annotated Bibliography. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-313-30468-2. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. Kernan, Sean (12 June 2020). "Pepsi's $32 Billion Typo Caused Deadly Riots". Medium. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  5. Asiaweek. Asiaweek Limited. 1994. p. 47. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. "The Computer Error That Led to a Country Declaring War on Pepsi". www.mentalfloss.com. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  7. "History of minimum wage in the Philippines". Personal Finance Tips. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  8. White, Michael (2002). A Short Course in International Marketing Blunders: Mistakes Made by Companies that Should Have Known Better. World Trade Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-885073-60-0. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  9. Teves, Oliver (29 July 1993). "A PEPSI GIVEAWAY, GONE WRONG". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  10. "COMPANY NEWS: An Unlucky Number; Pepsi Caps the Damages On a Promotion Gone Flat". The New York Times. 18 August 1993. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  11. Asian Recorder. K. K. Thomas at Recorder Press. 1993. p. 23358. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. "G.R. No. 150394". web.archive.org. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  13. "Botched Cap Promotion Haunts Pepsi". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  14. "Blunder turns to anti-Pepsi fever as Filipinos demand their contest prizes". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
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