Pepsi: We’re just opportunists!

Earlier this week, Pepsi joined in on the mass Obama worship in order to sell more of its pop.  What would you say to the man who’s about to Refresh Our Nation?  How about, “Have a Coke and a smile”?  Naah, they probably wouldn’t pass that message along, any more than they would have generated this website for John McCain if he had won.  After all, no one recalls Pepsi launching a “Morning in America” ad campaign to go along with Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.

However, Pepsi insists that they have no political agenda, and only hitched a ride with Obama to cash in on the hero worship while they can.  A Hot Air reader forwards the reply he received from Pepsi after complaining about their pandering:

Dear Eddie,

In marketing our products, we always aim to convey a message of youthful spirit and optimism. As you can imagine, we try to make full use of events and venues from which we can reach the largest number of potential consumers with our message. For instance, Pepsi was widely visible at the New Year’s Eve celebrations in New York’s Times Square, and we currently are gearing up for our much-anticipated television advertising during the Super Bowl.

The inauguration of a president is another such event that engages a large number of people, both attending in Washington, D.C. as well as watching from living rooms around the world.

Our advertising initiatives coinciding with the inauguration reflect the hope shared by Americans of all political persuasions that our new president will succeed in meeting the serious challenges facing our country and our world. I can assure you that our marketing focus is set on reaching consumers to highlight our portfolio of beverages and snacks, and not the agenda of any political party.

Thanks for allowing us to share this information with you.

Uh-huh.  So if their explanation holds water, Pepsi should be able to point to its previous ad campaigns tied to the inauguration of Republican presidents.  So, let’s see them.  I’m sure that Pepsi has all of those campaigns stored in their vaults.

No?

Of course not.  Their explanation is, to be polite, rather weak.  We don’t have elections to determine whether we celebrate New Years or hold a Super Bowl.  The Pepsi ad campaign contributes to an already-unfortunate impulse in our media to create a cult of personality around a national leader unlike anything we have seen in American history.  Putting politicians on a pedestal for worship has never — never — worked to the benefit of the nations that indulged themselves in that kind of secular worship.

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