Winter fizz

Cola wars in winters? Battle-hardened marketers may dismiss the idea, since this is traditionally the lean season for soft drink sales. But then, the age-old competition between Coke and Pepsi has not always followed convention. Thus, in a pre-emptive strike, Coca-Cola India may unleash its latest brand ambassador for Thums Up, Salman Khan, this December, to coincide with the release of Khan’s movie Dabangg 2. The timing appears even more interesting because Pepsi recently won the title rights for the next five years of the Indian Premier League 20-20 tournament, which kicks off in the summer of 2013, at the height of the traditional cola war time. Media space sellers and the advertising fraternity certainly won’t complain if there is a prequel to that war this winter.