Pepsi Max – No Females Allowed in 2009

Pepsico has given me entirely way to much to blog about over the last month. It appears the target market for Pepsi Max has changed and females are no longer allowed to drink Pepsi Max. Maybe females never did drink Pepsi Max and this is the reason for the target market change.

When Pepsico first introduced Pepsi Max to the United States in 2007, it was called Diet Pepsi Max and of course it was a diet cola and the “max” stands for added caffeine and ginseng. In watching several commercials for Diet Pepsi Max over the last two years, it appears the target market is teen to twenty something, male and female. I don’t see anything wrong with that target market, but I guess Pepsico did.

Pepsico removed females from their target market and expanded their male target to include all males from teen to grave. According to Pepsico, Pepsi Max is now the first “diet” cola for men. I actually heard a radio commercial for the new Pepsi Max and “diet” is not mentioned in the ad, pretty darn sneaky.

New 2009 Pepsi Max Commercial

If you look at the new Pepsi Max product packaging and compare it to the old Diet Pepsi Max product packaging, you can clearly see the move from male and female target market to just male.

The old product packaging is blue in color and includes “diet” in product name.

The new product packaging is two tone black/silver and “diet” is nowhere to be seen in the product name.
Any guesses for next years target market?