The Rise And Fall Of Pepsi's Wacky Breakfast Soda

The year is 1989. Madonna has released "Like a Prayer," and Nintendo launched the Game Boy. You reach into the fridge and pull out a new soda flavor, Pepsi A.M., for a quick caffeine fix in the morning.

If you've never heard of Pepsi A.M., that's because this obscure drink existed for a little over a year before it joined the lineup of discontinued sodas. The concept was simple and strange: A soda designed specifically for breakfast. Pepsi A.M. contained a higher amount of caffeine than regular Pepsi; according to an article from the Associated Press in 1989, the morning soda contained 28% more caffeine than regular Pepsi but 77% less than coffee.

Some Americans do drink soda for their morning caffeine fix, so Pepsi's idea was to capitalize on this. Pepsi A.M. The branding was distinct from the basic blue Pepsi can — it included lighter colors like white and yellow stripes, and lettering that emphasized "A.M.," its intended time of day. A diet version that only contained one calorie was also released. The drink was tested in select Midwest cities in Indiana and Iowa.

Before Pepsi A.M. could roll out to the rest of the country, it was discontinued in 1990. That may have been part of the problem — the drink never really had a chance to gain traction, as it was only available in certain areas of the Midwest. There also wasn't a huge marketing campaign or push to get the new soda to the masses, so it may have been relatively unknown to the rest of the country.

While Pepsi A.M. may have been a logical choice for Americans who already reached for a soda in the morning, it also may have been a challenge to convert coffee drinkers. Pepsi A.M. contained significantly less caffeine than coffee, and many prefer to sip on something warm in the morning.

It's confusing enough to try to figure out the differences between diet soda and zero soda, and branding a drink specifically for the morning was just another label for consumers to decipher. By calling it "A.M.," Pepsi boxed the product into a specific time slot, and therefore may have unintentionally discouraged drinking it during other parts of the day. Like Pepsi's other bizarre soda, Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi A.M. was pulled from the shelves after a fast introduction and fall.