Pepsi had a competition that caused a riot

The Promotion That Sparked Hope

Back in February 1992, something exciting happened in the Philippines. PepsiCo Philippines (PCPPI) launched a captivating bottle-cap promotion known as “Number Fever.” Here’s how it worked: each bottle cap had a number printed on it, ranging from 001 to 999. Every day, specific numbers were announced on TV, and if you had one of those lucky numbers, you could cash in for some fantastic prizes. The grand prize? A whopping ₱1 million pesos (which was around US $40,000 back in 1992) — an amount that was over 600 times the average monthly salary for Filipinos at the time. Talk about a life-changing opportunity!

Early Success—and Growing Excitement

At first, the campaign exceeded expectations significantly. Pepsi's monthly sales increased from $10 million to $14 million, and its market share grew from 19.4% to 24.9%. By May, more than 51,000 prizes had been claimed, including 17 grand prizes, leading to an extension of the promotion beyond its initial end date.

Although Pepsi experienced a temporary decline in market share to 17%, it managed a modest rebound, reaching 21% by 1994. However, the campaign left a lasting cultural impact—“349ed” became slang for being deceived, and the incident remains a cautionary example in marketing circles.

The campaign even received an unexpected accolade: in 1993, it was awarded a tongue-in-cheek Ig Nobel Peace Prize for uniting different groups in protest.

The story has been revisited in media, including a Netflix documentary, Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?, which highlights the negative consequences of misguided marketing efforts.

From Protest to Violence

The aftermath turned chaotic: people formed the "349 Alliance," organizing protests and boycotts. The situation escalated to violence—Pepsi trucks were burned or overturned, company employees received threats, and bombs were thrown. Tragically, at least 5 people lost their lives: three Pepsi employees in a warehouse explosion, and a young schoolteacher and child killed by a bomb thrown at a Pepsi truck.