Pepsi iTunes Stealing

I Steal Therefore I Am

Apple thought they were so cool. They had a brilliant marketing campaign to increase the already impressive market share of their iTunes music store. They would put codes into Pepsi caps. Uncover a code, win a free download from iTunes. One in three Pepsis had the code.

The only trouble is, as it turns out, is that people have discoverd a way to determine if their Pepsi has a winning code. All without buying a soda.

Not that I blame them entirely. I'm a Coke man myself. I've only been guzzling diet Pepsis to get the codes.

Accordint to MacMerc, it's pretty simple.

Your first task is to find a store that has the coveted sugar water. Just look for the yellow caps. Diet Pepsi, Pepsi and Sierra Mist all have them, and some [surely single] nerds claim select Mountain Dew bottles do as well.

Once you've captured a bottle, use the below image as a guide to try and uncover its destiny.

The secret is the angle. I've found it to be 25 degrees, but that's really no use when you're out in the field. Just tilt it until it seems about that, and look up towards it (hold it above your head). With luck, you should be able to see under the cap. Here's what a loser looks like:

Now I admit, I've done it. Who hasn't looked under the cap for a winner. But I guess my hours and hours of bloggin have ruined my eyes. All I see is a blur. I buy the Pepsi, only to find that I lost.

It also is somewhat shocking, though not surprising, that with very careful reading of your bottle, you can determine the 10-digit code necessary to buy a song, all without a single purchase.

This sort of action will no doubt give fuel to the fire to the argument that the illegal file sharers just want to steal songs. Even given a way to get songs for "free" (after purchase of a Pepsi), they will still try to cheat the system.

I think that the Pepsi/iTunes giveaway is a great thing. For people like me who already use iTunes, I can try a few songs I would otherwise be reluctant to try. For people not used to iTunes, they can try this service. And for people who never have downloaded music, it will introduce them to this new technology.

Everyone always wants something for free. Getting a free 99 cent download after buying a 99 cent soda is a good deal, you break even.

But come on, do you really need to steal codes from under Pepsi caps for a free download?

If these are the same people arrested for filesharing, then any sympathy I had for them went out the window.

For more reading, visit Tom's Nap Room

Posted by psugrad98 at February 19, 2004 08:45 PM