Thursday March 29, 2001

Cola Wars: Britney vs. Christina

It's the new cola war between Britney Spears versus Christina Aguilera. These dueling divas of pop are duking it out for billions in the fizz biz!

Britney fired first Oscar night with her racy new Pepsi ad. Rival Christina Aguilera is about to strike back. "Extra" has an exclusive look at Christina Aguliera's sizzling ad for Coke currently airing in Latin America.

However, with Pepsi's Britney blitz, Coke is ready to strike back with a new Christina campaign hitting the states this summer. USA Today's Theresa Howard says, "It's a realization that they need to activate something that consumers will connect with and for them that means pop stars for teens."

Howard says to help Christina win, battle-hardened Coke is ready to spend an advertising arsenal of 400-million dollars. She says, "They continuously have to reinvent themselves to stay relevant."

Coca-Cola's Scott Williamson says, "A celebrity or a well known person can certainly help link your brand to a fan base."

Williamson says Aguilera is that perfect link. "She's a genuine talent and a life long Coke drinker."

These top pop stars are also life long competitors, from their Disney days as Mouseketeers to their competition on the pop charts. Now it's they're at a new battle--the cola wars.

But Wade Robson, the 18-year-old star choreographed the Spears spot, says Britney doesn't buy into it. "She doesn't care. She's doing her thing. Christina's doing her thing."