Cola war weekend as Pepsi and Coke sponsor concerts same night?

From Jamaica Observer.com

It's one night -- Saturday -- two big concerts and two rival sponsors.

It will surely be a lot of fizz on Saturday night as soda pop giants Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola (via Coke Zero) go up against each other -- albeit in different sections of the island -- on the stage show circuit as they both roll out concerts which bear their names, Pepsi Rebel Salute and Coke Zero Presents Sean Kingston in Concert.

Although there is a lot of talk about the concerts targetting different markets, the truth is that whereas for some persons the choice is clear -- Pepsi or Coke -- there are others who will be torn between the two. The Coke Zero concert is seen as targetting a younger audience, more in tune with dancehall/pop whereas Pepsi Rebel Salute is dubbed "the greatest one night reggae event in the world" and has a target market that is more attuned to "consciousness".

However, Rebel Salute has each year been attracting some of the younger crowd and its lineup this year, which includes acts like Romiane Virgo, Assassin, Charly Blacks, I-Octane, Bugle and Tyrical is certainly a recognition of this fact. But Coke Zero, in addition to Sean Kingston, has Coke Zero artistes Chino and D'Angel in addition to an impressive cadre of local stars such as Etana, Tifa, Laden, Alaine, Tessanne Chin, Elephant Man, Ding Dong and Demarco.

According to Coke's country manager Chris Hardy, the concerts being on the same date was definitely not intentional. "We have a series of events which kicked off on November 16 ... it's a two-month promotion which takes us to January 16 and when our dates were chosen we had no idea that the two shows would fall on the same day. But it's different markets and different secions of the island and we believe there will be enough people to fill both concerts," he said confidently.

Hardy also pointed out that Coke Zero is not the title sponsor for the event, "it's ours. We conceptualised it from start to finish", he explained.

Coke Zero sweetens the deal with a ticket price that is the best thing next to free. The price for admission is only $100. Prospective patrons can take $100 to any branch of Mothers' or Burger King, along with three Coke Zero labels, and pick up their ticket for the Sean Kingston concert.

"There's no better deal out there," Hardy is quoted as saying in a release.

Rebel Salute, now in its 17th staging, has become an institution and is really a hard act to follow.

In the run up to Pepsi Rebel Salute 2010, there has been a series of roadshows across the island at which hopefuls have been given a chance to showcase their talent with the prize being an opportunity to perform on the show on Saturday night.

Sean Kingston in Concert takes place at the Lime Golf Academy, while Rebel Salute will be in action at the Port Kaiser Sports Club in St Elizabeth.

Two great shows ... one night ... pure fizz.
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