The Pepsi Concorde: A Marketing Stunt That Backfired
The Concorde was a remarkable achievement of engineering and cooperation. It was the result of a decades-long collaboration between France and Britain to develop the world’s first commercial supersonic aircraft. It was also a symbol of prestige and luxury, offering passengers the opportunity to fly faster than the speed of sound and cross the Atlantic in less than four hours. However, the Concorde also faced many challenges and limitations, such as high fuel consumption, noise pollution, environmental impact, and technical difficulties. These factors, along with a fatal crash in 2000 and a drop in demand and profitability, led to the retirement of the Concorde in 2003.
One of the most curious episodes in the history of the Concorde was the Pepsi Concorde, a supersonic airliner that was painted blue as part of a marketing campaign by Pepsi in 1996. Pepsi was undergoing a major re-branding of its products, changing its color scheme from red, white, and blue to blue, red, and white. To advertise its new identity, Pepsi embarked on a $500 million marketing project, which included repainting an Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) in blue and displaying it at various locations around the world. Pepsi hoped that by associating its brand with the Concorde, it would convey a message of innovation, quality, and excitement.
However, the Pepsi Concorde turned out to be a marketing stunt that backfired, as it caused more problems than benefits for both Pepsi and Air France. The blue paint that covered the fuselage of the Concorde had a negative impact on the performance and safety of the aircraft, as it increased the aerodynamic heating of the aircraft, which was already a major issue for supersonic flight. The white paint that normally coated the Concorde was designed to reflect some of the heat generated by the friction of the air at high speeds, preventing overheating and damage to the aircraft’s aluminum structure. The blue paint, on the other hand, absorbed more heat, raising the temperature of the aircraft by several degrees.
As a result, the blue paint reduced the Concorde’s maximum speed from Mach 2.04 to Mach 1.7, and limited its Mach 2 flight time to no more than 20 minutes, to avoid overheating the fuel and the structure of the aircraft. The blue paint also added extra weight to the Concorde, which reduced its fuel efficiency and range. These limitations meant that the Pepsi Concorde could not fly on some of the regular routes of the Concorde, such as Paris-New York, and had to be restricted to shorter flights, such as Paris-Dakar or London-Bahrain. Moreover, the blue paint made the Concorde more visible and vulnerable to bird strikes, which could damage the engines or the windshield.
The Pepsi Concorde was only used for two weeks, and then restored to its original white color scheme. It was a costly and risky experiment that did not pay off for either Pepsi or Air France. Pepsi did not gain much publicity or sales from the Pepsi Concorde, as the public reaction was mostly negative or indifferent. Air France did not benefit from the Pepsi Concorde, as it had to bear the expenses and inconveniences of repainting and maintaining the aircraft. The Pepsi Concorde was a short-lived and ill-fated attempt to use the Concorde as a marketing tool, which showed that the Concorde was not a suitable platform for such purposes. The Concorde was a unique and iconic airliner, but it was also a complex and delicate machine that required careful handling and respect. The Pepsi Concorde was a reminder of the challenges and limitations that the Concorde faced throughout its career, and that ultimately led to its demise.
