Pepsi's Number Fever contest (Philippines 1992)

Pepsi's "Number Fever" contest in the Philippines in 1992 became infamous for both its initial excitement and the chaos that ensued. The contest aimed to boost Pepsi’s market share in the country by offering consumers the chance to win cash prizes by collecting bottle caps with numbers printed underneath. Prizes ranged from small cash rewards to a grand prize of one million pesos—a life-changing amount for many Filipinos.

Launched in February, the promotion initially attracted massive participation. Filipinos from all walks of life eagerly bought Pepsi products, hoping to find the winning number under their bottle caps. The company announced a series of winning numbers throughout the contest, which stirred even more excitement and fervor.

However, the situation took a disastrous turn on May 25, 1992. PepsiCo had mistakenly printed the number “349” on over 800,000 bottle caps, declaring it as a grand-prize winner. Instead of a handful of winners, Pepsi now faced nearly half a million people who believed they had won one million pesos. Chaos erupted as people demanded their prizes.

PepsiCo initially attempted to explain the error, blaming a computer glitch for the printing of the caps. The contest had been designed so that only a few of each winning number would be produced, but a programming error led to the mass production of the "349" caps. Pepsi declared that the vast majority of the caps with this number were invalid, offering a much smaller compensation of around 500 pesos to affected claimants. This response, however, fueled widespread outrage.

Riots broke out in various parts of the country, and protests took place at Pepsi bottling plants. Some disgruntled participants even filed lawsuits, while others resorted to violence, leading to incidents of bombings at Pepsi facilities. The controversy deeply damaged Pepsi’s reputation in the Philippines, leading to a loss of consumer trust. PepsiCo was forced to defend itself in numerous legal battles, some of which dragged on for years.

Ultimately, Pepsi paid millions in settlements, though it avoided paying the full amount claimed by participants. Despite the financial fallout, the "Number Fever" scandal is remembered more for the emotional toll it took on Filipino consumers, many of whom felt cheated out of a dream that Pepsi had dangled in front of them.