The Pepsi Gotta Have It Card

By: massreality

In the early 90's, Pepsi decided to change their logo and update their ad campaign which had grown stale since the big Pepsi Challenge of the 1970's. They hired the hottest woman on Earth at the time, Cindy Crawford, and introduced the new Pepsi logo with this amazing commercial during the 1992 Superbowl.

Armed with this great new ad campaign and a new logo that was embraced, Pepsi launched a new slogan, "Gotta Have It." It was simple, catchy, and looked good on a t-shirt.

Pepsi was cool and all us kids knew it. It was the first time I'd ever seen a major logo change and I was enamored with the new Pepsi vending machines featuring this snazzy new logo.

Pepsi went from being a boring soft drink to the newest and coolest thing to drink. But Pepsi still had one more marketing tactic up their sleeve, and that was the Pepsi Gotta Have It card.

The Gotta Have It card was a discount card that you could get free inside specially marked packages of Pepsi, or at random places like malls or convenience stores. The card was good for discounts at Blockbuster, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Eddie Bauer, Avis, MCI, and Continental Airlines. Some of the discounts had deadlines, but most were generic percentages off or rent three get one free type deals.

Over 40 million cards were distributed the summer of 1992 to the thrill of kids everywhere. Why kids? Well it looked like a credit card. It had punched numbers in it and a place for a signature, and these were so readily available every kid was able to get their hands on one or ten of these. We'd put them in our wallets and walk around feeling grown up because we had a hard plastic card that actually meant something in our wallets.

I only remember once ever using the discount, and that was at a Blockbuster. The sense of pride I had pulling out my handy Gotta Have It card to get my dad a free rental was intense. I knew then I was grown up, I handed a clerk a plastic card. Apparently the promotion was basically no risk to Pepsi and it worked out well for the retailers involved. It didn't last very long, but it definitely left a lasting impression on me.

Looking for more from massreality?

READ 107744 TIMES

massreality Posted on Apr 18, 2015 at 05:29 AM

Thanks Hojo. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And Vapor, man I feel ya on the real credit cards. Sheesh!

Vaporman87 Posted on Apr 14, 2015 at 03:33 PM

Speaking of "plastic", I can recall purchasing wallets and pretending that the "cards" that came with it were actually valid and I would purchase myself several toys (that I just happened to already own). Ahhh, youth. Those charges were ones I never had to repay. If only it were that way with the cards I have now. LOL

Hoju Koolander Posted on Apr 14, 2015 at 01:49 AM

Pretty awesome recollection of that brief moment in time. I wasn't allowed to drink caffeinated sodas, but the look of the Pepsi can prior to this re-design was such an iconic symbol of my childhood. I even invested in Pepsi Co. During my 6th grade stock market investment project. Way to dig up an not often discussed, but awesome topic. Well written too.

10 Pop Culture Dogs of the 80s

Growing up I always wanted a pet dog. It just seemed to be a part of the classic childhood experience I was missing. Sadly I never had a furry friend ...

Interview with 90s Trading Card Designer Robert Conway

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger fantasy adventure film Last Action Hero, I recently wrote an article about the hea...

Mall Memories

Some of the best memories of my '70s childhood and '80s adolescence took place in shopping malls. Nowadays there is talk that the age of the shopping ...

Retrojunk Classic: Back to School In The 90's

Well everyone it's that time again. Everyone is finishing up their vacations, having those last parties as the leaves start to change I think you know...

Rad Retro Weekend Part 3: Video Store Victory

All epic adventures must come to an end and so it is with the Rad Retro Weekend I recently shared with my buddy, NLogan. In parts 1 and 2 we took part...

MOST RECENT RETRORATING FEATURED OFFICIAL

Go to page: