"In the late '90s, Pepsi found itself in dire straits. The age-old Coke versus Pepsi rivalry was in full swing, and unfortunately for Pepsi, Coca-Cola was holding down a significantly larger portion of the soda market. But the folks at Pepsi were not going to take this sitting down. No, they set out on an absolutely massive $500 million rebranding campaign dubbed "Project Blue.""
"Air France won the bid to operate the Pepsi Concorde, and the paint job was undertaken in secret at a facility in Paris and then transferred to London for the big reveal. The event took place at Gatwick Airport and featured extensive fanfare. This was, after all, the first release of the blue Pepsi can, and the soda giant wasn't going to let that happen without a show."
Pepsi faced market pressure in the late 1990s and launched a $500 million rebranding called Project Blue, shifting its packaging background to royal blue. The campaign included a Pepsi-branded Concorde painted in the new royal blue, operated by Air France and painted in secret in Paris before a Gatwick reveal. The Gatwick event cost about $5 million and featured light shows, supermodels on motorbikes, and a blue Concorde. The Concorde was a Mach 2.04 supersonic commercial jet capable of about 1,565 mph. The royal blue paint proved unsuitable for the supersonic aircraft, creating practical problems.
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