Crystal Pepsi

Crystal Pepsi is a soft drink made by PepsiCo from 1992-1993, and briefly in December 2015 in the United States, it was also sold for a short time in Canada and Australia. Crystal Pepsi was sold for a longer time in Europe during the early 1990s. The drink was re-released in late 2015 as a promotion to go along with the launch of Pepsi's new signature smartphone app Pepsi Pass. Pepsi currently has no plans to start selling Crystal Pepsi in stores. There are rumors from Pepsi officials on the Bring Back Crystal Pepsi Facebook page that Crystal Pepsi will be out in early summer 2016.

History

In the early 1990s, a marketing fad equating clarity with purity began with the remake of Ivory soap from its classic milky solution; the idea spread to many companies, including PepsiCo. Crystal Pepsi was marketed as a caffeine-free "clear alternative" to normal colas, equating clarity with purity and health. Its marketing slogan was "You've never seen a taste like this".

In 1992, PepsiCo introduced Crystal Pepsi to test markets in Denver, Sacramento, Dallas, and Providence, and the product generated a positive response. Pleased with the results, PepsiCo launched the cola on April 12, 1992, and began to sell it nationwide in 1993. A large marketing campaign was launched, for which the company invented the world's first photo-realistic, computer-generated bus wrap printing. A series of television advertisements featuring Van Halen's hit song "Right Now" premiered on national television on January 31, 1993, during Super Bowl XXVII. Another marketing ploy was to give out full sized sample bottles with the Sunday paper deliveries such as the Boston Globe in Massachusetts. In its first year, Crystal Pepsi captured a full percentage point of U.S. soft drink sales, approximately $474 million.Coca-Cola followed suit by launching Tab Clear on December 14, 1992.