The mystery of the number 349: how an ordinary bottle of Pepsi led to mass riots in one of the countries of the world (3 photos + 1 video)
Maybe you remember the game “caps”? This was somewhere in the mid-90s. The Coca-Cola Company announced that there is a “magic” number on the inside of the caps that gives a valuable prize. Thousands of people bought Coca-Cola in packs to increase their chances of winning large sums of money. 
Kept up with Coca-Cola and Pepsi. I remember stories about “X-ray machines” that were used to scan every Pepsi bottle, hoping to find a cap that said “1 million.”
Similar competitions were held in many countries around the world. But something went wrong in the Philippines. It all started well, but ended in pogroms and riots.
Pepsi in the Philippines
The story began in 1992. Pepsi, in an effort to supplant its eternal competitor Coca-Cola, organized a weekly promotion to give out small cash prizes. The prize amount was printed on the inside of the lid. One of the most popular winnings was 100 pesos, which was equal to 4 US dollars.
The promotion attracted thousands of new Pepsi buyers, and management rubbed their hands with satisfaction. The biggest prize was 1 million pesos. It was supposed to be played at the very end of the promotion.
And now this day has come. The number of the winning cap was announced on TV - No. 349. But it turned out that there are not just two such caps, but tens of thousands. There was a malfunction at the factory, and one of the Pepsi batches received the same number - No. 349.
Protests
When the winning cap was announced on TV, tens of thousands of Filipinos screamed with joy - they had won 1 million pesos. However, the next day Pepsi issued a refutation. The company stated that only two caps that had a security code in addition to the number 349 were winning.
Protests demanding payment of the prize did not subside in Manila for several weeks
But there was no stopping the people. Protest demonstrations began in Manila, which quickly escalated into pogroms and arson of cars and Pepsi sales outlets. But the company could not pay this money, since the amount of payments amounted to an impressive $32 billion. After all, 800,000 victory caps were printed.
Results of the action
The lucky winners don't yet know that they won't get anything.
Alas, only two people received 1 million pesos. All the other “winners” were left with nothing. The company reached an agreement with someone and paid 500 pesos. Those who “fought” the longest received 30,000 pesos. The last trial ended in 2006. From that moment on, the Supreme Court of the Philippines put an end to the People v. Pepsi case.
Needless to say, Pepsi has been hated in the Philippines ever since. And this is perhaps the most disastrous advertising campaign in the entire history of advertising.
