brand wars, pick your fighter
Brought to you by The Art Of Positioning Podcast
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Brand wars are as old as advertising itself.
Coke vs. Pepsi.
Nike vs. Adidas.
BMW vs. Audi.
These brands didn’t wait to go viral. They simply made themselves unforgettable by picking fights that people loved to watch.
Nothing hostile. Just a cheeky, clever, and fun rivalry that keeps people talking and taking sides.
Unlike the 15 seconds of fame you can only hope to get from one viral moment, many brand rivalries have lasted years and stuck in the minds like a never-ending debate.
And while the others in the industry are obsessed with cracking the next viral moment, these brands show us something better: sparring consistently — even playfully — builds cultural relevance faster than any algorithm hack.
So, how can your service-based business, even without a multi-million-dollar ad budget, leverage this strategy to become more memorable and engaging?
Today, we'll explore:
The psychology behind why playful rivalry captures attention and fosters loyalty.
Real-world examples of brands that have successfully implemented this strategy.
Practical steps to introduce a sense of friendly competition into your brand narrative.
Let's freaking go. 💥
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Humans are wired for drama.
We grew up on fairy tales, playground spats, and sports rivalries.
Conflict grabs attention and makes stories stick.
When brands spar (even in jest), it lights up the emotional brain (cue the brain freeze).
📸: GIPHY
In 2006, Audi challenged BMW with a billboard tacking on a, "Your move, BMW."
2 weeks later, BMW responded with a billboard 3 times the size across the street that read, "Checkmate."
People loved it. They took pics, tweeted, blogged about it, and made it a marketing lecture for years (it’s 2025 and I’m talking about it, see?)
In another corner, the ongoing playful rivalry between Pepsi and Coca-Cola has kept both brands in the public eye for decades, lighting a fire under brand loyalty and conversations.
All because these brands understand a fundamental truth: Playful rivalry is about creating a narrative that invites your audience to participate, to choose a side, to become part of a story.
Why does it work?
It triggers curiosity (“Ooh, what’s the other guy gonna say back?”)
It signals confidence (“You wouldn’t tease a competitor unless you were sure of your edge”)
It creates identity (“Which team are YOU on?”)
In short: playful shots make you look bold, smart, and worth watching.
But most brands don’t do this for not-so-surprisingly psychological reasons:
“What if we seem to mean?” (Fear of rejection)
“What if they fire back and we lose?” (Fear of failure)
“What if we upset our professional image?” (Fear of being judged)
These fears are valid, but when it comes to building likability and fun moments that stick for years, you either go hard or go home.
So, how do you choose an enemy?
Hone down by looking to:
Competitors for differences.
Outdated industry ‘norms.’
Day-to-day struggles or practices that your target audience face.
Find one that you can get fully behind and go all in.
Badass Tip
🦘 Marketing
Every great brand is a rebellion against something. For a service business, identifying a “common enemy” — whether it is complexity, slowness, jargon, or legacy systems, gives your brand a clear stance, emotional edge, and creative direction.
What it looks like in practice:
Institutionalize this “enemy” in your messaging playbook. Define it during brand workshops and have it guide tone, content, and campaigns across the board.
Include a section labeled “What we are NOT” in your brand guidelines with vivid descriptions of the enemy.
🦘 Sales
Weave this contrast into sales scripts and train reps to draw subtle but strategic lines between your approach and the outdated alternatives.
What it looks like in practice:
Share concise "before" scenarios highlighting the client's frustrations with the "enemy" (using slightly humorous or exaggerated language) and compare it with the "after" experience your service provides.
Draw alignment and shared ‘fight’ against this enemy to build bridges. And then show how what you do destroys this mutual enemy.
🦘 Customer service
Use anti-rival touchpoints in the support journey or design support processes to highlight how they aren’t like the usual “bad guys” and quietly roast the status quo in the moments that matter, whether it’s pre-sale, post-sale, or just random social media interactions with clients.
What it looks like in practice:
When resolving customer issues or responding to customers, inject a bit of personality that subtly pokes fun at typical support frustrations or how competitors run differently. Wendy’s does this well when they’re calling out McDonald’s and other competitors for using frozen beef.
🦘 HR
Culture becomes magnetic when team members feel like they’re part of a shared mission, especially one that goes against a lame status quo.
Use onboarding, rituals, and performance management.
What it looks like in practice:
Let new hires get the memo during onboarding. You can include fun questions during interviews to know their thoughts and what ideas they can pitch in. Then, whether they get onboarded via Slack or emails, inject a little bit of the fun rivalry language in there so they get familiar with how it works.
Organize chat sessions where different departments report, and discuss how the audience receives or reacts to the rivalry in the different areas of the business. What are the comments on socials like? What is the interaction with customer support like? etc
📝 They say, “If you want people to talk, give them something to talk about.”
And what better than a good, clean (and fun) brand spar? Dare to be a little cheeky, pick a playful fight against the mundane, and watch as your audience not only remembers you but also chooses a side – hopefully yours😉.
