30 Years Ago: A Look Back at How The Pepsi 349 Promo Ended in Riots
The aftermath of the biggest Pepsi promo also ended with five deaths
PEPSI 349
It has been 30 years since it happened. The promise of becoming a millionaire ended in tragedy.
Nobody wanted it to happen, not Pepsi and not the thousands of people who, on May 25, 1992, thought they won a million pesos or $37,000.
In 1992, I was in my 20s already. The Philippines, where I am from, was a very poor country. Six years after democracy was restored, the Filipino people had to fight hard to oust Ferdinand Marcos and his family in a peaceful people power revolution. I remember life was hard, and Filipinos' last chance of hope of a better life was by winning a million pesos from a Pepsi giveaway that turned dreams into a nightmare.
The Pepsi promo was simple.
Drink a Pepsi, win a million pesos.
All you have to collect is the Pepsi bottle crown and match the numbers with the winning numbers, and you can collect your One Million Pesos.
