• The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:30 AM

As part of a new marketing campaign in China, Pepsi has launched a can that is all red except for a blue stripe on one side--raising at least a few eyebrows because of its resemblance to Coca-Cola's Olympics-themed cans.

Like Coke's current design, the new Pepsi can also features Olympic athletes, though they are different from the ones used by Coke, which is an official sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Pepsi is a sponsor of Team China, the national team.

Pepsi has marketed its signature cola in a blue can internationally since 1996. At the beginning of this year, it rolled out a new design globally, with a regularly changing series of images, all in shades of blue. A Pepsi spokesman says the company has used national colors before, such as yellow and green on a package last year in Brazil. Coca-Cola appears mostly amused by Pepsi's move. "Red? Great idea. Why didn't we think of that?" says spokesman Kelly Brooks.

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