Pepsi’s $500 million Concorde makeover didn’t last long, but the jet visited a remarkable number of places

Pepsi once spent a reported $500 million on a global rebrand, the highlight of which was a branded Concorde that was sent flying off around the world.

Back in 1996, amidst fierce competition from rivals Coca-Cola, Pepsi hatched an ambitious and attention-grabbing campaign. 

Not quite content with whacking up a few posters or launching a TV advert, the soft-drink maker leased a Concorde and got it kitted out with Pepsi livery. 

Once complete, the Pepsi Concorde set off on a month-long tour that saw it visit Paris, London, Madrid, Stockholm, Dubai, and more. 

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The Pepsi livery posed a technical issue for Concorde

The iconic supersonic Concorde was introduced in the 1970s and soon became a hit with the world’s rich and famous. 

The plane was able to travel at speeds of Mach 2.04, around 1,354mph, meaning it could fly between New York and London in around three hours. 

Concorde set off on its last ever commercial flight in October 2003, but in 1996 it was still seen as a highly desirable way to fly. 

So much so that Pepsi decided to lease a Concorde plane from Air France and gave it a complete overhaul to help launch its rebrand. 

However, the plane’s Pepsi-inspired livery and paintwork caused a bit of a technical problem. 

You may have noticed that all Concordes were painted white, and there’s more to that than a simple stylistic choice. 

As the plane traveled so fast, it was subjected to extremely high temperatures, and white is the best color to deflect heat and help keep the plane cooler. 

Aerospatiale, which jointly built Concorde, granted approval for the fuselage to be painted blue, but advised Air France to keep the wings white. 

With the blue paintwork, Air France was advised to only fly at Mach 2 for 20 minutes at a time.

It headed some a bunch of destinations in just one month

Nonetheless, that wasn’t enough to put Pepsi off the idea and the Concorde was unveiled at a glitzy, celebrity-filled party at London Gatwick. 

With the plane officially unveiled to the public, it then set off on a month-long tour of Europe and the Middle East. 

It kicked off with a trip from Paris to London, before visiting Dublin, Stockholm, Jeddah, Cairo, Milan, Madrid and Dubai. 

After the hectic month-long tour drew to a close, the plane was returned to Air France and had the Pepsi livery removed, restoring it to its original white color scheme.

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