Pepsi debuts new logo on Hollywood sign.

Another front in one of capitalism's oldest skirmishes -- the Cola Wars -- opened in Los Angeles last week, producing a curious brew of Madison Avenue magic and Tinseltown topography.

Advertised as a "dramatic aerial unveiling," Pepsi-Cola West, Southern California revealed the soft drink's new logo on the Hollywood sign Dec. 3. Two 20-foot-high Pepsi cans -- each displaying Pepsi's more streamlined, less boxy mien -- were propped up over each "L" of Mount Lee's landmark sign.

While blues crooner and Diet Pepsi spokesperson Ray Charles wasn't present for the festivities, company officials felt the move was the right one, baby.

"We wanted to make our new logo as recognizable as the Hollywood sign. Afterall, both are parts of our culture," said Miriam Schiffer, area marketing manager for Pepsi-Cola West, Southern California. "We make changes like this because consumers expect change."

The modern logo, a product of four years of "intense consumer research" and focus groups alike, marks the eighth image change in Pepsi's 93-year history, and the first logo redesign since 1973, Schiffer added. Cola gulping consumers will get their first glimpse of the logo next month at local supermarkets on cans and packaging of regular, diet and caffeine-free Pepsi.

Schiffer was quick to note the new image was "evolutionary and not revolutionary" because the Pepsi swirl remains, though the italicized capital letters "convey a sense of movement."

How did the local advertising crowd greet the new graphic?

"Pepsi has always been successful managing publicity and they like to stay current," observed Larry Copald, executive vice president at the L.A. office of Foote, Cone & Belding. "But I'm not sure the world cares about a new Pepsi logo," given the recession and back-to-basics consumer needs.

Oddly enough, this is not the first time the 68-year-old Hollywood sign has gone commercial.

Though it's now synonymous with the glitz and hype of the world's entertainment mecca, the sign was originally intended as an advertising gimmick for swank homes in Beachwood Canyon, circa 1930s.

During the past several years, Pepsi's local bottling and marketing division has donated more than $600,000 in playground equipment to the City of Los Angeles, which owns the land under the Hollywood sign.