While this list isn't presented in any particular order, we figured we'd start out with what's likely the most famous and globally-known of all corporate rivalries. Of course, we're talking about the Coke vs Pepsi battle, dubbed by pop culture as the "Cola Wars". These two giants have stayed at the top, exchanging brutal marketing blows toward each other over the years. In the process, lesser-known names in the cola wars such as RC (Royal Crown), Jolt, Dr Brown's, and a litany of store brand colas have taken a rather obscure backseat.
Though these two brands are still duking it out today, their most fierce competition took place from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola is the older of the two companies, with their flagship beverage having been invented in 1886. Pepsi came into being in 1899, but struggled greatly financially in the early 20th century.
However, when Pepsi merged with Frito-Lay to form the current PepsiCo corporation, seriously threatening financial woes became a thing of the past. Coca-Cola's long-standing tradition of creating promotional merchandise and television advertisements was a model that PepsiCo soon began following and before long, the Cola Wars were on.
The most significant events of this epic battle included the "Pepsi Challenge" (a blind taste test where users were filmed showing a preference for one of the two colas), the New Coke fiasco, and Pepsi's "Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff" campaign. In the latter promotion, consumers would earn points every time they bought a Pepsi product, which could then be redeemed for various gifts and branded Pepsi merchandise. At one point, the company jokingly offered a Harrier Jet to anyone who could submit 7 million Pepsi points. Through a combination of points and money, one man actually managed to reach this milestone, but was denied his jet. It was determined in court that a reasonable individual would assume the jet deal was just a joke, and the man's lawsuit was dismissed. However, the "Get Stuff" campaign didn't continue for very long after this incident.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi have both had many celebrities appear in their ads over the years. They've also taken many shots at each other in their advertising. Some of the more humorous and good-natured ones can be observed in the following video:
There have been several rivalries within the automotive industry, though few have been quite as intense between that of Ford and Chevrolet. Ford was the company responsible for creating the Model T. This was the first mass-produced automobile that was widely available to the public at a price the average consumer could afford. Chevrolet, while now a subsidiary of General Motors, also started out as an independent automaker. In the late 1920s, it merged with General Motors.
The new company combined its forces and resources to create an automobile similar to the Model T, but with more power under the hood. This car was known as the 490 and it offered a more advanced and sophisticated instrument panel than that offered by the Model T. It came with a higher price tag than the Model T, and out of these two automobiles, a rivalry that still lives today was born.
Ford and Chevrolet would continue to compete as automakers and as lifestyle brands throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. The '57 Chevy would go on to become a symbolic piece of Americana, an entity almost synonymous with the decade. Though they received less fanfare, Ford's 1957 models actually outsold those of Chevrolet.
The next battle was over the muscle car market. The Ford Mustang first hit American streets in the early 1960s. Chevrolet's Corvette, while still popular, couldn't quite compete. It wasn't until the release of the Chevrolet Camaro in 1966 that the Mustang had a full-fledged mainstream competitor.
As the years went on, the primary area of competition for Ford and Chevrolet became their trucks. Both companies offer an assortment of light and mid-size pickups, as well as large and extra large trucks. Ford's F-150, Ranger, and Super-Duty Trucks have faced fierce competition from Chevrolet's Colorado, Sierra, and Silverado.
Both brands have extremely loyal fanbases who like to trade (mostly) mild barbs with each other. In addition to the Chevy vs Ford truck memes found all over the Internet, classic insults from the mid-20th century still ring loudly today. You'll hear many Chevrolet loyalists say that Ford stands for "Fix of Repair Daily", while Ford fans will tell you that Chevrolets are, "The best trucks you'll ever push."
Below is a commercial from 1980s for Chevy trucks. At the time, Ford ran a series of commercials of its trucks with Chevrolet models placed in their beds, driving up mountains in a display of sheer strength. In the commercial we're showing, Chevrolet shoots back by showing their trucks not only carrying Fords up the mountain, but also towing away the mountain at the end of the ad.
In the late 20th century and into the 21st, the unquestioned leaders in the world of retail are Walmart and Amazon. While they have very different backstories and ways of operating, the two are still fierce competitors. In fact, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, cites his company growing larger than Walmart as one of his top goals.
Walmart was founded by Sam Walton, with the first location opening in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962. The company headquarters are still in Arkansas, but in the city of Bentonville. Walton's primary vision was to establish a retail store that would sell items at low prices, but in large quantities. In other words, there wouldn't be a ton of profit made on each sale, but the goal was for the sales numbers to be high enough that this wouldn't matter. The strategy was a smashing success, as Walmart grew to become the largest retailer in the world in terms of yearly revenue. As of this writing, it's a title they still hold.
Amazon is based in Seattle, Washington. It started out in the same city in 1994, though for its first year of existence, it was called Cadabra. It started out as a bookseller, but soon directed its path into becoming the largest online retailer for nearly all categories of commerce. It also went beyond just retail by also branching into streaming services, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Amazon warehouses, shipping centers, delivery services, and corporate offices combine to employ approximately 800,000 people.
With the digital and mobile revolutions seeing more people shopping from home, Walmart realized it had to change with the times. It also realized that Amazon would be its biggest competitor in entering this new arena. For its part, Walmart has its own services that Amazon does not, such as pharmacies and vision clinics. For a time, it also was the only one of the pair in the grocery game, but this changed with Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods. Amazon has also entered the world of brick-and-mortar locations, in the form of its Amazon Go Convenience Stores.
Customers can enter these locations and complete purchases without a single interaction with another human being. At the same time, Walmart has expanded its online ordering and shipping capabilities. Partnering with Google, Walmart introduced its Voice Over app, primarily for use in pre-ordering groceries for quick and convenient pickup.
The video below compares and contrasts Walmart and Amazon and makes some interesting educated guesses about hypothetical future clashes between the two.
If you've been a passenger on a commercial flight within the past 20 years, the odds are highly in favor of you having traveled in a plane produced by either Boeing or Airbus. While there have been many producers of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines since the dawn of aviation, the field has been growing smaller and smaller since the 1980s when Boeing and Airbus emerged as the undisputed industry leaders. Specializing in the creation of airplanes that are lightweight, fuel efficient, and cost-effective, these two companies are going to dominate commercial aviation for the forseeable future.
Of the two, Airbus is the new(er) kid on the block. While Boeing had its beginnings in 1916, Airbus joined the fray in 1970. Boeing is an American-based company, while Airbus has its main corporate headquarters in the Netherlands. Both companies have thrived on an innovation-heavy strategy to outperform the competition. They've also both relied on buying out competitors/grabbing so much of the market share that many ex-competitors simply dropped out of the business. Since the 1990s, Airbus has had a bit of an edge on the development curve, but until recently, Boeing has been the industry leader in revenue and volume of manufactured & delivered aircraft.
There's been a great deal of contention between the two companies, with each accusing the other of shady tactics and favorable government treatments. The environment became hostile enough that the USA began imposing higher tariffs on Airbus jets, with an even larger rise in tariffs taking place earlier this year.
A primary reason behind the current lead in successful production and revenue held by Airbus is the grounding of Boeing's new 737MAX fleet of jets, after two tragic accidents taking place in 2018 and 2019. Much work has been done to refine the jets since that time, with over 400 new models ready for testing. As it stands, signs point toward these planes being approved and a hopeful recovery for Boeing's production and bottom line. Meanwhile, the A320 series of Airbus planes continues to grow in popularity, with a future that looks very bright.
Below is a fun and educational video that spots some of the differences between the aircraft produced by Airbus and Boeing, helping to determine what type of plane you're boarding the next time you fly.
