Wait, no I mean HOO-RAY!

You’re familiar with MyCokeRewards, right?  That’s the little promotion thingy, like a frequent flier club for airlines, where drinkers of Coke products (and there are millions of them: Coke, Minute Maid, Dasani, Sprite, etc) can enter in codes, gain points, and then redeem them for fabulous prizes.  Ok, you can redeem them for craptabulous prizes.  Ok, you can’t really redeem them for anything but it’s nice to dream sometimes.

I started my rewards account a few years ago, deposited a few points here and there, and then basically forgot about it.  In fact, I just checked and it looked like I had 70 points, but in Jan 2007 they got removed due to inactivity.  Anyway, a few months ago, I started donating my reward codes to a “worthy cause”.  I’m pretty sure I’m making a house payment per month for this guy with the reward points I constantly send to him, so I’m unsure how he’s going to take this news.  Someone put him on the watch list.

Yes, I have some news, and it’s fanTASTic news for me.  I can’t wait for 2/1 to come because then I can start participating in my new retirement plan!  YES!  It’s like buying stock!

Like I wished for not too long ago, Pepsi has decided to launch their own rewards program!  HOO-RAY!

Here’s how I think it went down: millions of people read my blog, right?  Well, ONE of those millions knew a Pepsi exec.  That one went to one of their board meetings and said “hey, look guys.  Wayne drinks Pepsi but he’s buying Coke sometimes to help out this perverted retard out on the ‘net.  If we do our own rewards program, then he won’t buy so much Coke and Coke will feel the pain!  We will finally be ‘the mcdonalds’ of soft drinks!”

I already have my first code - I found it on a bottle I picked up this morning at Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ.  Then when I went online I found out that it doesn’t actually start until Feb 1st. 

I also was more than a little bummed to see all the disclaimers in the rules on the side (to be fair, I haven’t read MyCokeReward’s rules)

• Sweepstakes ends 11/15/08
  What?  why is there an end date?!??!!?  I want to be able to rack up points!
• Limit 3,000 points per account
  EXCUSE ME?!?!?!   You want me to drink as much as possible, but then you want to limit me?  Well, I can’t wait to see what 3000 points gets me…
• Must be 13 years old or older
  OH GREAT.  Now I have to be a specific AGE… oh wait.  I’m older than 13.  whew.  I thought I was takin’ it from the man again with yet another oppressive rule.

Hmm, I just had a thought.  Maybe the person who ran the Coke rewards program left Coke, went to Pepsi and started it over there… and he decided to mix it up a little and add all these little rules.  We’ll see where this goes…

For me, *I* know where this is going to go.  I’m going to shamelessly beg PepsiStuff codes from you.  Yes, YOU!  If you drink a Pepsi product, and it has a Pepsistuff code on it, and you don’t want to keep it for yourself, please email it to me.

Help me find out what happens when someone hits the 3,000 point limit.  Help me break from the status quo.  Help me, help you!  SHOW ME THE MONEY CODES!

I gotta get something off my chest. 

I’m a Pepsi lover.

Sometimes I’ll go for a Coke, especially if it’s in a glass bottle, but Pepsi almost always wins hands down.

One of my favorite … let me make this clear… ABSOLUTE favorite uses of ice cold Pepsi - and it HAS to be in a can to get that sharp metallic taste - is to wash down sausage egg and cheese breakfast tacos from Kiefer’s cafe here in Austin.  It is pure heaven.  Something about the carbonation, the thick syrupy taste, the cold blast of energy, cleansing the throat and eating away at anything that might think of sticking around and causing me grief later…

Its interesting that I prefer Coke in the glass bottle (not plastic), but I prefer Pepsi in the metal can (no bottles).  Both are “ok” in the 2-liter variety; neither has a specific edge when packaged in that way.

I’ve been called a communist pig because I like Pepsi; this I do not understand.  But I put up with it because Pepsi is sooooo good.  Although I wish it would take a dash of vanilla as well as Dr. Pepper does - Sonic does a good job of creating the perfect “Vanilla Dr. Pepper.”  Also interesting that both Coke and Pepsi sell Vanilla-flavored versions of their soda pop but Dr. Pepper doesn’t.  And it’s Dr. Pepper that’s awesome with Vanilla!  This world is so super crazy I can’t believe it!

There’s another thing that kind of bothers me - Coke (and the associated Coke Products such as Dasani water, Minute Maid juices, Sprite) has MyCoke rewards (which I bestow upon Avi) but Pepsi has no such loyalty-based side benefit.  Surely Coke is still winning the Coke vs Pepsi marketing battle, so why wouldn’t they jump on the “drink our stuff and we’ll reward you” bandwagon?

Maybe I should just buy Pepsi stock.