2020年经济学人 可乐大战(1)

Business

商业版块

Cola wars

可乐大战

Fire-starter

纵火者

Donald Kendall added marketing¹ sparkle to the soft-drinks industry

唐纳德·肯德尔为软饮料行业增加了营销亮点

“Rock and roller cola wars, I can’t take it any more!” cried Billy Joel in his chart-topping song from 1989, “We didn’t start the fire”. He had had enough of the intense marketing battle between America’s fizzy-drinks behemoths. As the underdog, PepsiCo had stunned² its bigger rival, Coca- Cola, by signing Michael Jackson, the era’s biggest musical star, to promote its brand in a record-setting $5m deal.

“百事与可口的广告大战，我实在看不下去了！”比利·乔尔在他1989年的排行榜榜首歌曲《不是我们点的火》中喊道。他已经受够了美国汽水巨头之间激烈的营销战。作为劣势方，百事公司以创纪录的500万美元签约了当时最大牌的音乐明星迈克尔·杰克逊来推广自己的品牌，这让它规模更大的竞争对手可口可乐大为震惊。

The cola wars became a cultural phenomenon. Credit for that goes to Donald Kendall, PepsiCo’s legendary³ former boss, who died on September 19th aged⁴ 99. A gifted salesman, he rose quickly through the ranks from his start on the bottling line to become the firm’s top sales and marketing executive at the tender age of 35. Seven years later he was named CEO. In 1974 he injected a dose of fizzy capitalism⁵ into the Soviet⁶ Union, which allowed Pepsi to become the first Western product to be legally sold behind the iron curtain. By the time he stepped down as boss in 1986, PepsiCo’s sales had shot up nearly 40-fold, to $7.6bn. His legacy⁷ continues to shape the industry.

可乐大战已经成为一种文化现象。这要归功于百事可乐传奇的前任老板唐纳德·肯德尔，他于9月19日去世，享年99岁。他是一名天才销售员，从灌装线工人迅速晋升为公司的销售精英，年仅35岁就成为了销售主管。七年后，他被任命为首席执行官。1974年，他为苏联注入了一剂冒泡的资本主义，这使百事可乐成为第一个在铁幕后合法销售的西方产品。他在1986年卸任老板时，百事公司的销售额已经猛增了近40倍，达到76亿美元。他的遗产还在继续影响整个行业。

Mr Kendall offered a mix of strategic vision, principled leadership and marketing flair⁸. Two years after taking charge he acquired Frito-Lay, a leading purveyor⁹ of snacks, giving PepsiCo an advantage from diversification¹⁰ that persists to this day. PepsiCo’s revenues last year of $67bn dwarfed¹¹ Coca-Cola’s $37bn in sales. Decades before Black Lives Matter he named African-Americans to top jobs, making PepsiCo the first big American firm to do so—staring down racists including the Ku Klux Klan, which organised a boycott¹².

肯德尔集战略眼光、有原则的领导力和营销才能于一身。接管公司两年后，他收购了一家领先的零食供应商菲多利，这使百事公司从多元化发展中赢得竞争优势并一直延续至今。百事公司去年收入670亿美元，使销售额在370亿美元的可口可乐公司相形见绌。在“黑人的命也是命”运动发起的几十年前，他就任命非裔美国人担任要职，使百事可乐成为第一家采取此类做法的美国大型公司——以此来对抗种族主义者，包括组织抵制活动的3k党。

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

3 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

8 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

9 purveyor   

n.承办商，伙食承办商

参考例句：

• Silence, purveyor of gossip, do not spread that report. 快别那样说，新闻记者阁下，别散布那个消息。 来自互联网
• Teaching purpose: To comprehensively understand the role function and consciousness composition of a news purveyor. 教学目的：全面深入的理解新闻传播者的角色功能和意识构成。 来自互联网

10 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

11 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。