WORLD OF WARCRAFT: A bit of lunch-time fun today in Gamasutra’s report on ‘The Chinese MMO Cola Wars‘.
Ya see, Coca-Cola has a big deal with WORLD OF WARCRAFT going and Pepsi has aligned itself with Chinese-market newcomer, GUILD WARS. It’s an all-out, no-holds-barred cola war! Will the GUILD or the CRAFT warriors win out? Whatever happens - your thirst is sure to be quenched. Chug it.
“When World of Warcraft launched in May 2005, Coca Cola and Pepsi were neck and neck in China’s cola brand image race. Coke was viewed as a more established brand, but Pepsi had a slight lead in star power, including China’s most recognized athlete Yao Ming and a stable of soccer athletes and Hong Kong singers and movie stars. World of Warcraft took the cola wars to a new level.
Coca Cola signed with The9 for World of Warcraft. Pepsi had to settle for partnering with The9 rival Shanda, which was preparing to launch its new MMORPG Magical Land around the same time. Magical was not a success; a year later, Pepsi declined to renew its promotion partnership with Shanda.”