When Pepsi's Mega Hit 'Number Fever' Campaign Resulted In Violence, Riots
Pepsi introduced a 'Number Fever' campaign in the Philippines to boost its business in the country in 1992.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola, two of the world’s leading beverage companies, are known for their long-standing rivalry, having locked horns in a battle for dominance in the soft drink industry for decades now.
With both companies making major efforts to promote their products, a few notable campaigns will remain etched in the pages of history. One such case took place with Pepsi, which met a disastrous failure due to a minor error, grabbing all sorts of wrong attention. The event dates back to 1992 when Pepsi launched a unique ad campaign named ‘Number Fever’ to increase revenue.
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What initially turned out to be a big hit, beating the popularity of Coca-Cola and even bringing an unexpected inflow of revenue, resulted in a major disaster, resulting in the deaths of five people and violent riots.
In 1992, Pepsi created the perfect promotion.Sales jumped from $10M to $14M overnight.
Then, a SINGLE human error sparked riots, lawsuits, 5 deaths. … And it became the biggest disaster in marketing history.
The story of how ONE printing mistake brought Pepsi to its knees: pic.twitter.com/arhJtIyXhT
— Vikram (@vikrammjha) March 31, 2025
What Happened?
To boost its business in the Philippines, Pepsi ran a lottery campaign, promising to turn civilians into millionaires. The idea was simple. Pepsi announced that anyone could become a millionaire by buying a bottle with the unique number 349 printed on the cap. At the time, the Philippines, as a struggling country with widespread poverty, saw the contest as a complete game-changer, thus bringing tens of thousands together.
While the company obtained unimaginable success with people making large purchases of Pepsi bottles, the almost ‘perfect campaign’ came to a disastrous conclusion on May 25, 1992, over a minor computer error. With original plans of only doling out two bottles with the winning number, Pepsi ended up manufacturing 800,000 caps with the number, resulting in a chaotic situation.
People across the country believed that they had actually become millionaires and thus started heading toward Pepsi HQ to claim their prizes with the caps with 349 printed on them, only to be told that there had been a mistake and they wouldn’t receive any money. Needless to say, things got very violent as people broke into protests and riots at the plants, prompting the company to put up fences. Amid the rush, when Pepsi realised that honouring all the 800,000 bottle caps would cost them $32 billion, the bosses decided to offer the winners a compensation of $20 as a ‘goodwill gesture.’ While some accepted the offer, others continued their protests, which turned even more violent.
Pepsi trucks were overturned and set on fire, bombs were hurled at the offices, and staff faced death threats. At one point, a lawsuit of $400 million was filed against Pepsi; however, multiple courts sided with the company, which ultimately did not pay out the billions.
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