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Wednesday is newsday here at Mind the Gap. Here's a short article about what Pepsi is up to this fall and winter:

AUGUST 05, 2004

PEPSI TO LAUNCH LIMITED-TIME SPOOKY, JOLLY LINE EXTENSIONS
Pepsi-Cola North America

Capitalizing on the success of its first limited-time soft-drink offering, Mountain Dew LiveWire, Pepsi-Cola North America (PCNA) today announced that it will launch two new soft drinks this year for brief, "in-and-out" plays. The first, Mountain Dew Pitch Black, will launch in late August and stay on store shelves through Halloween. Then, just in time for the holidays, Pepsi Holiday Spice will hit stores November 1 for an eight-week appearance through the end of the year.

Both products come at a time when consumers are seeking variety. More than half of all soft-drink buyers purchase six or more different brands and more than 80 percent of soft drink buyers purchase three or more brands.

Mountain Dew Pitch Black, which follows in the footsteps of Mountain Dew LiveWire, features a blast of black grape flavor. According to PCNA, LiveWire grew the Mountain Dew trademark more than 10 percent during its inaugural six-month run in 2003. Building on that successful strategy, Mountain Dew Pitch Black will capitalize on excitement leading up to Halloween with a shorter, 10-week on-shelf stretch beginning Aug. 21.

In addition to Mountain Dew Pitch Black's spooky package graphics and in-store displays, a theatre commercial - parodying "B" horror movies - will support the new brand in 4,000 movie theatres. Additional marketing support includes an Internet "Dewsletter" and product sampling at General Growth Properties malls and at this week's ESPN X Games in Los Angeles. Mountain Dew Pitch Black will be available in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans.

Pepsi will launch Pepsi Holiday Spice - Pepsi-Cola with a spicy finish of ginger and cinnamon - to give consumers a new seasonal treat during a time of celebration. Featuring nostalgic package graphics, Pepsi Holiday Spice will be available in the US from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans.

"People like new products - they're much more interested in variety nowadays than they were just a few years ago," said Dave Burwick, SVP and chief marketing officer of PCNA. "By introducing new flavors for a short period of time, then taking them away, we're meeting the wants and needs of soft-drink consumers while playing directly to their purchasing patterns."

Those crazy Pepsico folks. What will they think of next? Oh wait, I didn't mention that they were doing this.

Also, it appears that Blockbuster is going after Netflix. Read about it here. Then you can go to the Blockbuster website to read more about it. I tried out the Wal-mart version of Netflix and I was pleased with their selection. However, I often found myself having to make time to watch the movies. Sure, you can keep them as long as you want, but you're not going to get another one until you've returned one. And you need to watch at least four movies a month to make it profitable.

Sayonara!