Floyd County High School Majorettes, Kentucky, 1985.

The Floyd County High School Majorettes (Lebanon Junction, Kentucky) pose aboard a bright yellow Pepsi Pumper, a promotional vehicle designed to look like a fire engine. The vehicle was used for public appearances, parades and community events.

Dressed in matching navy blue uniforms with silver fringe, the majorettes capture the spirit of early 1980s high school twirling. In fact, the picture comes straight out of the “Cola Wars” of the 1980s. If you’re a Millennial, Gen Z or Gen Alpha, you probably have no knowledge of this, but in the 1980s, Pepsi and Coke competed relentlessly for customers. The advertising was ridiculously splashy and taste tests were everywhere. Celebrity endorsements were also huge with the likes of Michael Jackson and David Bowie doing commercials for Pepsi and the likes of Whitney Houston and Ted Turner doing commercials for Coca-Cola.

We did some digging and can’t locate any information about the Pepsi Pumper. It is not known whether any of the bottlers’ promo vehicles survived.