Firms can reinforce rivalries directly
or engage others to fan the flames.
Pepsi, renowned for taking on rival
Coca-Cola in the original Pepsi Challenge,
is now running advertising starring
lackluster Coke drinkers in dingy
retirement homes. Apple's PC-versusMac
ads sparked not only Micaisoft's
"1 am a PC" countercampaign but also
a host of YouTube parodies from both
camps. A group's unity is strengthened
when such conflicts and contrasts are
brought to the fore