TV & VIDEO - July 15, 1988

The bell for the second round has rung: Pepsi-Cola aired its new Diet Pepsi TV commercial featuring Mike Tyson Thursday night, continuing a series of commercials that have brought the product high recognition and earned the company the ire of archrival Coca-Cola. The 30-second commercial, filmed four days after Tyson successfully defended his heavyweight championship title on June 27 against Michael Spinks, features Tyson and his wife, actress Robin Givens. The spot marks the first time the couple has performed together in a commercial. Pepsico’s much-publicized “Undisputed Champion” campaign has ticked off Coca-Cola, which disputes the research Pepsico claims proves consumers preferred Diet Pepsi over Diet Coke by a 55% to 45% margin.