This drink comes in a 20 oz. glass bottle with shortneck, emblazoned with Sobe's iconic lizard iconography. The beverage is a deep red color with a fruity, almost cranberry-like scent emanating from the open cap. Overall, quite pleasant.

As for the taste, it's sweet, but not too sweet. In fact, it's very good. It's also pretty much an assortment of a zillion "fruit concentrates" when it comes to flavor (take a look at the ingredients!) Lightly tangy when it first hits your tongue, followed by a deeper flavor of pomegranate, then a lightweight aftertaste. This drink contacts L-carnitine and red clover extract, which are herbs that apparently are there to help you… or something. Well, officially, Sobe claims that they "are specially formulated to energize the body, uplift the spirit, and enlighten the mind." So… you have that going for ya at least!

Here's what's inside:

Sobe Elixir Yumberry Pomegranate
Filtered water, sugar, pear juice concentrate, grape juice concentrate, pomegranate juice concentrate, calcium lactate, black carrot juice contentrate (color), citric acid, raspberry juice concentrate, natural flavor, ascrobic acid (Vitamin C), L-carnitine, red clover (trifolium pratense) flower extract, yumberry juice concentrate, chromium picolinate

A 20 oz. bottle contacts 250 calories, 55 mg of sodium, and 65 g of carbs (63 g of sugars).

If you get a chance to come upon a bottle of this discontinued drink, give Sobe Elixir Yumberry Pomegranate a try. I'm not sure why it's been washed off the market, but I would imagine other flavors or combinations had stronger sales. It's light, refreshing, and the flavor is surprisingly tasty!

We've previously taken a look at the berry-flavored No Fear Regular and its low cal sibling, No Fear Sugar Free. Then there was the hard-to-figure No Fear Motherload, which had a nice sweet/bitter taste, but was hard to describe to others. The folks behind the No Fear drink clarified some of those questions with Bloodshot, starting with the packaging.

First of all, the standard black can with No Fear and "skull with wings" logos are in place. These sit above the phrase "Bloodshot" written in lowercase script similar to a biker-style font. The complimentary color on the can? Orange. What do you think the flavor of this drink is? In fact, right there on the bottom it mentions "with Blood Orange & Dragonfruit Juice." Makes sense to me. This is supported by some extended prose on the side of the can:

If you ask us, the only good thing about morning is finding out your're still alive.

So, we mixed up this little courage concoction to take the edge off last night.

With a hit of both real juice and vitamins, synched with some serious energy,

No Fear Bloodshot gets you back on your feet just in time to do it all over again.

So, from that we can pretty much interpret that this is being positioned as a morning beverage. The mention of real juice (30%) supports that as well. Add in the parallels to this orange-flavored energy drink and the traditional breakfast staple of OJ, and it's pretty clear what this drink is about. I applaud the folks at No Fear for more-targeted marketing on this beverage.

You'll get a nice "orange soda" scent when you open the can, and upon looking inside, you'll see an orange/yellow-colored drink. So far, so good.

The taste produces the bitterness we've found with the other No Fear drinks, especially Motherload. But there's also that orange flavor we were looking for. Not a sweet orange, more of a muted one, with a grapefruit influence, not unlike the flavor we found in the Halloween limited edition flavor of Jones Soda Blood Orange Soda last year. I liked it… a lot.

Given its positioning as a morning beverage, it did seem a bit smoother when compared to No Fear Regular and No Fear Motherload, probably taking a page from other drinks who have tried subdued versions of normal flavors in the morning (i.e. Gatorade AM/Shine On). Also, this is of interest… there's no high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in this drink. According to the ingredients, the sweetener used is sugar! How about that? No wonder it tasted better!

No Fear Bloodshot contains 174 mg. of caffeine, which breaks down to 10.9 mg/oz. — the same as No Fear Regular and No Fear Sugar Free, but lower than No Fear Motherload. This compares to Red Bull's 9.64 mg/oz. and Monster's 10.00 mg/oz. Pepsi's Amp Energy features 8.875 mg/oz., while Coke's Full Throttle has 9.0 mg/oz.

Partaking of all 16 oz. of this beverage will run you 200 calories, 320 mg of sodium, and 46 g of sugars. That's less calories than the original flavor, but also the highest amount of sodium in the lineup. When you take a look at the inclusion of nutritional supplements, this can contains 100 mg of guarana extract, 2000 mg of taurine, 200 mg of inositol, 100 mg of ginseng extract, 50 mg of L-carnitine, and 20 mg of arginine.

A full ingredient list is as follows:

No Fear Bloodshot
Carbonated water, sugar, grape juice concentrate, orange juice concentrate, pear juice concentrate, taurine, citric acid, natural flavor, sodium citrate, dragonfruit juice concentrate, pectin, blood orange juice concentrate, ascorbic acid, monopotassium phosphate, inositol, caffeine, purple grape juice concentrate (color), gum arabic, L-carnitine, grape seed extract, cochineal (color), L-arginine hydrochloride, zinc methionine sulfate, panax ginseng root extractive, glycerol ester of wood rosin, guarana seed extractive, pyridoxine hydrochloride, soy protein isolate and rice flour, selenium complexed with amino acids and polypeptides, folic acid, di-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, cyanocobalamin

With the use of sugar and real fruit juices — including orange, pear, and grape — No Fear Bloodshot is an incredibly-tasty energy drink targeted for morning consumption. The combination of smooth fruit flavors and bitter bite actually produces a refreshing experience that can start your day with a little extra pep!

Now, one might be scared with the green color given our negative experience with another beverage that shared that same hue AND also had the word "Mother" in the title. We, of course, are talking about Full Throttle Mother. Luckily, this 16 oz. can of No Fear Motherload doesn't share much in common with that now-discontinued, disgusting drink.

The marketing angle of Motherload seems to be "300% Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamins B6, B12, and C" while also having a "guanabara-berry flavor." Like the other flavors in the No Fear line (distributed by Pepsi), the can is black and highlighted by an accent color — which as we've previously noted, is green. The No Fear logo sits at the top of the can, right above the "skull with wings" logo. A green-colored banner proclaiming "Super Energy" is below that, followed by the bold, green lettering of "MOTHERLOAD".

Unlike the berry scents of No Fear Regular and No Fear Sugar Free, Motherload smells more like citrus when opened. The color skews more towards a orange/yellow rather than a yellow/green.

As for the taste, we're talking an experience more akin to tropical fruits… grapefruit, guava, kiwi… thrown in with an energy drink blend. There's a bitterness present, like the other No Fear drinks, but I found it a tad bit smoother. As I mentioned, this drink tends to have a tropical influence, but it's hard to pin point exactly just what that is. This drink hit the marketplace in 2008, and frankly, I think I like the flavor a bit more than No Fear Regular. As for what the self-described "guanabara-berry flavor" is, your guess is as good as mine.

Also of note is the inclusion of glycerol ester of wood rosin in the ingredient list. Wikipedia notes that this "is a food additive used as an emulsifier and stabiliser, to keep oils in suspension in water," and is common in soft drinks. The different, smoother texture of this beverage might be associated with that ingredient.

No Fear Motherload contains 182 mg. of caffeine, which breaks down to 11.4 mg/oz., one of the highest levels for a No Fear energy drink. (The regular flavor averages out to 10.9 mg/oz.). This compares to Red Bull's 9.64 mg/oz. and Monster's 10.00 mg/oz. Pepsi's Amp Energy features 8.875 mg/oz., while Coke's Full Throttle has 9.0 mg/oz.

Feeling thirsty? If you drink the entire can, it's going to cost you 260 calories, 200 mg of sodium, and 66 g of sugars. When you take a look at the inclusion of nutritional supplements, this 16 oz. can contains 100 mg of guarana extract, 2000 mg of taurine, 200 mg of inositol, 100 mg of ginseng extract, 50 mg of L-carnitine, and 20 mg of arginine. The big "300% DV" numbers are produced by 360 mg of Vitamin C, 12 mg of Vitamin B6, and 36 mcg of Vitamin B12.

Did I noticed an increased "buzz" or "boost" from this drink? Well, not more so than I previously experienced with the other No Fear flavors. Don't get me wrong, I liked the taste, but wouldn't go out of my way to drink it because it proclaimed to have a lot of Vitamin C. That's what a multivitamin is for!

A full ingredient list is as follows:

No Fear Motherload
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, taurine, natural flavor, sodium citrate, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), inositol, caffeine, monopotassium phosphate, gum arabic, grape seed extract, L-carnitine, glycerol ester of wood rosin, panax ginseng root extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride, L-arginine hydrochloride, zinc methionine sulfate, guarana seed extract, caramel color, selenium complexed with amino acids and polypeptides, beta carotene (color), folic acid, cyanocobalamin

No Fear Motherload is a rather tasty, tropical-influenced drink that has a smooth taste that is bookended by a harsh bitterness. For some reason, the smooth/bitter combo works, producing an energy drink that's bound to keep you bouncing off the walls with its 11.4 mg/oz. of caffeine!

Featuring a back 16 oz. can, No Fear Sugar Free is highlighted by a blue color to denote its "diet" status. You'll find the No Fear logo towards the top of the can along with the "skull with wings" logo. The phrase "Super Energy" can be found on a blue-colored banner above the blue letters marking this product as "Sugar Free". Like the original flavor, a callout of typical energy drink supplements is found towards on the bottom: taurine, L-carnitine, and arginine.

The smell of the drink is pretty similar to No Fear Regular, somewhat tropical in nature. This beverage is also yellow/green in color.

The taste is where this drink differs with its Regular brethren. Enter the world of artificial sweeteners! In the case of No Fear Sugar Free, those would be both sucralose and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), a common combination of sweeteners. And you know what? You can definitely take the fake! The flavor follows along the lines of the officially described "berry-passion fruit flavor," but with the added "benefit" of a artificial sweetener aftertaste that is pretty pronounced. As longtime BevReview.com readers know, I'm not a huge fan of diet drinks, so I readily admit my bias in flavor. Those of you who are more open or used to diet beverages will probably find this drink right at home.

No Fear Sugar Free contains 154 mg. of caffeine, which breaks down to 9.6 mg/oz., slightly under the 10.9 mg/oz. found in No Fear Regular. This puts Sugar Free on par with Red Bull (9.64 mg/oz.) and under Monster (10.00 mg/oz.). Pepsi's Amp Energy features 8.875 mg/oz., while Coke's Full Throttle has 9.0 mg/oz.

The big savings with this drink is in calories. If you drink the entire can, it's just 20 calories vs. the 260 you'd get with the regular version of No Fear. There's also 200 mg of sodium and obviously 0 g of sugars (it does say "Sugar Free" on the label, remember?) When you take a look at the inclusion of nutritional supplements, this 16 oz. can contains 100 mg of guarana extract, 2000 mg of taurine, 200 mg of inositol, 100 mg of ginseng extract, 50 mg of L-carnitine, and 20 mg of arginine.

A full ingredient list is as follows:

No Fear Sugar Free
Carbonated water, citric acid, taurine, grape juice concentrate (color), sodium citrate, natural flavor, inositol, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), caramel color, fruit extract (color), sucralose, caffeine, monopotassium phosphate, acesulfame potassium, L-carnitine, grape seed extract, panax ginseng root extract, L-arginine hydrochloride, guarana seed extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride, soy protein isolate and rice flour, selenium complexed with amino acids and polypeptides, folic acid, cyanocobalamin

If you are watching your caloric consumption, No Fear Sugar Free is a strong contender, though it has a bitter aftertaste produced by the artificial sweeteners. Far more syrupy in flavor than No Fear Regular, the sour berry/grape taste tends to be a little different, which is nice. Still, if sugar free isn't a concern, then go for the Regular version.

One wonders where No Fear currently fits in the Pepsi energy drink lineup, given that they have a owned flagship brand (Amp Energy) and just landed distribution of another established entry (Rockstar, previous distributed by Coke). No Fear would seem to be pulling up the rear as a smaller #3 in the eyes of the Pepsi distribution empire, which may be why you might not find it as easily as the previously-mentioned energy drink brands. It also seems that Pepsi has backed off pushing energy drinks with its SoBe brand, reducing the visibility of SoBe Essential Energy and SoBe Adrenaline Rush offerings.

Previously used SoBe No Fear logo

The original flavor of No Fear, which seems to be referred to by the bland name "No Fear Regular" on the official website, doesn't mention a flavor on the black can — though the website notes it's a "great berry-passion fruit flavor". Capped by the No Fear logo and "skull with wings" logo, a red banner proclaims "Super Energy" on the front. The red color is used as a highlight on various places on the can, basically setting up "red = original flavor". A callout of typical energy drink supplements is found on the bottom of the 16 oz. can, including taurine, L-carnitine, and arginine.

Upon opening the can, it's really hard to place just what in the world this drink smells like. At first, I noted a bit of pineapple smell. Something along the lines of a tropical fruit. The ingredients note the inclusion of grape seed extract, but you'd be hard-pressed to smell grape. However, the use of grape juice concentrate does seem to influence the color of the beverage, which leans towards a light yellow/green hue.

As for the taste, it's somewhat bitter. Not a bad bitter, mind you, but probably not something you are expecting right away. I'd also throw in a hint of sour grape flavor. It definitely was more berry-ish rather than citrus, on par with something you would experience drinking Full Throttle Blue Demon or faintly like Amp Energy Elevate. There wasn't much aftertaste present, and what was there was rather clean.

For those looking for a pick-me-up, No Fear Regular contains 174 mg. of caffeine, which breaks down to 10.9 mg/oz. Comparatively, industry leaders Red Bull (9.64 mg/oz.) and Monster (10.00 mg/oz.) have just a bit less. Pepsi's Amp Energy features 8.875 mg/oz., while Coke's Full Throttle has 9.0 mg/oz.

If you drink the entire can, you'll be ingesting 260 calories, 230 mg of sodium, and 66 g of sugars. When you take a look at the inclusion of nutritional supplements, this 16 oz. can contains 100 mg of guarana extract, 2000 mg of taurine, 200 mg of inositol, 100 mg of ginseng extract, 50 mg of L-carnitine, and 20 mg of arginine.

A full ingredient list is as follows:

No Fear Regular
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, taurine, grape juice concentrate (color), sodium citrate, natural flavor, inositol, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), caffeine, caramel color, fruit extract (color), monopotassium phosphate, grape seed extract, L-carnitine, panax ginseng root extract, L-arginine hydrochloride, zinc methionine sulfate, guarana seed extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride, soy protein isolate and rice flour, selenium complexed with amino acids and polypeptides, folic acid, cyanocobalamin

No Fear Regular has a bitter, yet rewarding taste often associated with energy drinks. The berry/grape taste combined with an attractive sour flavor is surprisingly welcome, while the high amounts of supplements quench those desiring an energy soft drink with a little charge.

Two beverage companies featured advertising during the Super Bowl this year… it's not a surprise that they were The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Coke fielded 3 unique ads, while Pepsi showed 5. We've done detailed analysis on each of these ads individually, but here's a quick overview:

Coca-Cola Zero – "Mean Troy"

In this tribute to the original 1981 Coke commercial featuring Mean Joe Greene, The Coca-Cola Company debuted the first Coke Zero Super Bowl ad that features Troy Polamalu… and a storyline that seems similar, but different, from the original spot.

Coca-Cola – "Avatar"

This spot for Coke "shows how people in today's busy world use technology to stay virtually linked", but it also showcases how two people connect over high fructose corn syrup-sweetened goodness, while sitting in a diner that doesn't exist on Earth, using straws (seriously, straws?) to drink out of glass bottles that Coke doesn't even use in mainstream distribution.

Coca-Cola – "Heist"

This Coke commercial — part of the new "Open Happiness" campaign — features a bunch of bugs trying to steal a bottle from a guy in a park. Lots of CGI and a cheery music score make this a happy spot.

Pepsi Max – "I'm Good"

Diet Pepsi Max is relaunched on the big stage as Pepsi Max, a diet drink for men. Will this relaunched product — with new logo, name, and positioning — help in Pepsi's battle against Coke Zero?

Pepsi – "Refresh Anthem"

A 60-second spot for Pepsi featuring the "Refresh Anthem", sung by Bob Dylan, remixed with Will.i.am. It showcases how Pepsi has moved through the generations as always being the choice of the youthful set. Utilizing a parallel video device, it shows how some things have changed, but a lot of things stay the same.

Pepsi – "Pepsuber"

After debuting the night before via a trio of MacGruber product placement ads, Pepsi runs this Pepsuber spoof during the Super Bowl as part of their introduction of a new logo and slogan, "Refresh Everything".

Gatorade – "Talking Heads"

This is "Talking Heads", part of the repositioning of Gatorade around the "G" tagline through a series of "Manifesto" ads. It's part of Pepsi's "reinvention" of brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, and yes, Gatorade.

SoBe – "Lizard Lake"

This SoBe spot… yuck! The folks over at Arnell Group should be shot and relieved of their duties regarding the SoBe advertising account, because this 3D commercial done in conjunction with Intel, DreamWorks Animation, and NBC, is not only a bad Super Bowl piece… it's bad marketing.

Before we let the 2009 Super Bowl move into the past, I thought I might be interesting to step back and see how last year's beverage advertisers did over the past year. Was the Super Bowl exposure worth it?

• Diet Pepsi Max – "Nod"
  Pepsi spent the big bucks to introduce off Diet Pepsi Max to a larger audience… only to relabel it… rebrand it as Pepsi Max… and spend more money the next year to reintroduce the beverage. Result? Failure.

• Pepsi – "Magnetic Attraction"
  The reintroduction of Pepsi Stuff with Amazon MP3 downloads never really had the same appeal as the first iteration with Apple's iTunes. Add to that issues that retailers had with displays that showcased the Amazon brand (sensing that they were a competitor in the marketplace) and this promotion started hot, but in the public perception, fell flat. Result? Underwhelming.

• Gatorade G2 – "Derek Jeter Footsteps"
  Gatorade G2 was to be the hot new low-calorie version of the iconic sports drink that would appeal to the masses. A year later, Pepsi admitted the launch "was not quite as successful as we think it could have been." They are now repositioning the drink back at athletes. Result? Poorly Executed.

• Gatorade – "Man's Best Friend"
  An amazingly stupid commercial showcasing a dog drinking water out of a bowl. It was done by Arnell Group, the same agency that brought us this year's amazingly stupid 3D SoBe commercial. After having sales slip in 2008, Pepsi is relaunching Gatorade with new branding, iconography, and ads from a different agency. Result? Failure.

• SoBe LifeWater – "Thrillicious"
  Trying to take on Coke's Glacéau Vitaminwater, this spot introduced a bottle design that was very similar to the Coke product. And it featured dancing lizards. 1 year later, Coke had solid financials, while SoBe is relaunching their brand and redesigning their products once again. Result? Failure.

• Glacéau Vitaminwater – "Jockey"
  Coke had a solid 2008 in overall sales, though the only real growth they saw was in Coke Zero. Vitaminwater didn't return to the Super Bowl in 2009. Result? Unknown.

• Amp Energy – "Jumper Cables"
  Pepsi worked hard to give their Amp energy drink brand a boost by sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr's 88 car on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. The drink has grown 127.5% in 2008, with volume sales up 52.1%, outperforming the category. Result? Success.

• Coca-Cola – "Jinx"
  The election is over, so such a polarizing ad wouldn't work in 2009, but back in 2008 it made perfect sense. Result? Still, Coke was down North America by 2%, with only Coke Zero showing growth. The flagship seemed to struggle. Appropriate.

• Coca-Cola – "It's Mine"
  It's been interesting to read the reviews of 2009 Coke commercials from this Super Bowl. Many commentators compared this year's lineup against this very commercial, which they still feel was well-executed and Super Bowl-worthy. That it stands the test of time is notable. Result? Success.

Which commercials from 2009 did you like the best? Leave your comments below!

Did you like this review? Digg it.

Brand: SoBe
Title: "Lizard Lake"
Agency: Arnell Group

One of the gimmicks promoted during this year's Super Bowl was a series of 3D commercials, starting with the trailer for DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens. PepsiCo got in on the action as well by offering a 3D SoBe commercial as part of the block; NBC also aired an episode of Chuck in 3D.

Looking beyond the fact that the 3D thing isn't exactly new to the Super Bowl (it's been done before by Diet Coke), the folks over at Arnell Group should be shot and relieved of their duties regarding the SoBe advertising account. I don't care if the "SoBe lizards" are part of the iconography of the brand, they are just creepy and lame. They are not attractive or cute like the Geico Gecko or even the old Budwieser Frogs and Lizard. They are just ugly and don't do a very good job at making a fruit-flavored drink seem like something you'd want… especially in an era when Coke's VitaminWater brand is beating the tar out of you in the marketplace.

This is just a horrible, horrible ad. It has CGI lizards and real football players (Ray Lewis, Justin Tuck, Matt Light) dancing "Swan Lake". What? Throw in some characters from a film that hasn't even been released yet and you've got utter confusion. Not to mention, the use of 3D was rather poorly executed, creating a situation where the ad could not live up to the hype. Here is a perfect situation where having too many ad partners involved in what Pepsi described as "the first ever Super Bowl ad cross over event" (Intel, PepsiCo, DreamWorks Animation, NBC) just creates a jumbled, diluted result.

Yuck.

For those of you who have the 3D glasses, here's the 3D version of the ad for you to watch:

• Sprite Green
• Zevia
• SANS Natural Diet Soda

Original Story: The latest diet beverage war has begun with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granting approval for use of a new artificial sweetener in soft drinks. Based on the stevia plant found in South America, rebaudioside A (also known as Reb-A) is the key ingredient in two new sweeteners being used by both Coke and Pepsi in new products.

First off is Sprite Green from Coke, which uses the Truvia brand of sweetener, the consumer name for Rebiana, which is the Reb-A version offered by a joint project between The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill.

Rolling out first in New York and Chicago, Sprite Green is a reduced calorie version of Sprite, the most recent line extension since the rebranding of Diet Sprite to Sprite Zero and the trio of short-term Remix flavored drinks (Sprite Remix Tropical, Sprite Remix Berryclear, Sprite Remix Aruba Jam). Per Coke's press release about the new drink, Sprite Green "has 50 calories per 8.5-ounce serving and 5% lemon juice. Sprite Green was created to appeal to active young adults and will be launched in two U.S. cities this month in distinctive 8.5-ounce aluminum bottles. Initial availability will be limited to teen and young adult-oriented locations and events with a broader rollout planned for early 2009. Sprite Green complements the Sprite brand’s leading lemon-lime and zero-calorie lemon-lime sparkling beverages."

On the flipside, Pepsi is rolling out Zero Calorie versions of SoBe LifeWater in 3 flavors: Yumberry Pomegranate, Fuji Apple Pear, and Black and Blue Berry. These drinks use the PureVia brand of the Reb-A sweetener, created by Whole Earth Sweetener Company and used by Pepsi.

Pepsi's press release notes that "in addition to a full day's supply of Vitamin C, each bottle of zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater also provides 20% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin E as well as 10% of the recommended daily value of Vitamins B6, B12, Niacin (B3) and Pantothenic Acid (B5.) Each also will be infused with a unique blend of herbal ingredients." The SoBe products are going to be available nationally.

Like the abundance of Splenda-based products that came out years ago, the introduction of Stevia-based sweeteners to the marketplace is bound to prompt a new wave of drinks or at the very least, reforumalations of existing diet beverages. Right now, the hot combo seems to be Aspartame/Acesulfame potassium (as used in Coca-Cola Zero). Sucralose as a stand-alone sweetener got some press when Coke rolled out Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda back in 2005, but other than its comob use as Sucralose/Ace-K in Diet Rite, hasn't really been the "silver bullet" sweetener like Aspartame/Ace-K has been.

One wonders what's going to happen with these Stevia-based drinks… or beyond that, if the public is going to be utterly confused by the zillion names associated with this new product (i.e. Stevia, rebaudioside A, Reb-A, Truvia, PureVia, etc.)

It's going to be an interesting year in beverages!

This is primarily in response to The Coca-Cola Company's recent purchase of Glaceau and their Vitaminwater beverage, along with the continued success of Coca-Cola Zero.

In addition, they are preparing themselves for a challenging financial situation in the coming months:

Pepsi, the world's second-largest soft drink maker behind Coke, reaffirmed 2008 projections of 3 percent to 5 percent case volume growth and mid-to-high single digit revenue growth. It also expects earnings per share of $3.72, about a 10 percent increase over 2007's.

Pepsi is watching the economy for signs of a slowdown and also dealing with higher raw material prices, said Pepsi Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.

"We are well aware of the challenges in 2008 and we know full well it's going to take more than a single action or initiative to address these challenges," Nooyi said.

… In North America, beverage volume has been flat with gains in non-carbonated drinks, such as Gatorade and Lipton teas, offsetting declines in carbonated soft drinks.

Unlike Coca-Cola, though, Pepsi also has food divisions, Frito-Lay and Quaker, which contributed to revenue and operating profit gains in 2007. Pepsi expects continued growth abroad for carbonated beverages.

Pepsi recently broadened its Gatorade line-up with G2, a low-calorie sports drink, and Tiger, a Gatorade extension built around golfer Tiger Woods.

Source

Brand: SoBe LifeWater
Title: "Thrillicious"
Agency: Arnell Group

SoBe LifeWater, owned by PepsiCo, is a runner-up in the vitamin-enhanced, nutrient water product category. This Super Bowl featured a showdown of the nutrient water brands, as Coke's Vitaminwater also made a commercial appearance. LifeWater also was the presenting sponsor of broadcaster FOX's halftime report. In any case, Pepsi pulls out Michael Jackson's 1984 hit, "Thriller", in an odd combination of a female model and gyrating reptiles performing the iconic dance.