Obama: the Pepsi Candidate. The president and the soft drink have strong affinities...
Some people have noted that the round "Obama '08" logo is similar to the red and blue yin-yang-like symbol that Pepsi-Cola has used since 1991.Of course, the connection between Obama and Pepsi is largely accidental...
But Obama recently assembled a team of financial heavyweights for a summit to discuss economic issues and one of the most prominent corporate leaders in attendance was Indra Nooyi, the Pepsi CEO whose Indian heritage makes her, like Obama, one of the few nonwhites to reach the highest levels of power in her profession.
According to the database operated by the Center for Responsive Politics, Pepsi employees have given $39,700 to Obama's campaign, compared with a meager $6,000 from Coca-Cola employees.
Perhaps more significant, the prevailing theme of Obama's campaign meshes well with Pepsi's corporate messaging. Pepsi's marketing has for decades tried to exude youthful energy, from the early '60s attempts to adopt baby boomers as the "Pepsi generation" to the '90s fantasy commercials depicting Pepsi as a veritable soda fountain of youth, transforming nursing-home residents into skateboarders. Pepsi's advertising slogan not too long ago was "The Choice of a New Generation," which could almost be Obama's. Certainly his strategy in the general election, as it did in the primaries, will rely on youth support that is almost as fanatical and fantastic as the fictional version in Pepsi's ads. Both Pepsi and Obama try to reach younger people. Obama is the frist politician who has become famous for his political media campaigns including new media systems like the internet and, of course, blogging. (source http://www.slate.com/id/2198198)
These are only few arguments that strengthen the connection between Obama and Pepsi. The rest is just a guess or perhaps “only a strange coincidence”…
Can you imagine why Obama should cooperate with a soft drink company? Only for money for his election campaign or are there other reasons? Is this a phenomenon that could only take place in the USA or have you already heard of German politicians cooperating with large companies? Is this legal?
According to the database operated by the Center for Responsive Politics, Pepsi employees have given $39,700 to Obama's campaign, compared with a meager $6,000 from Coca-Cola employees.
Perhaps more significant, the prevailing theme of Obama's campaign meshes well with Pepsi's corporate messaging. Pepsi's marketing has for decades tried to exude youthful energy, from the early '60s attempts to adopt baby boomers as the "Pepsi generation" to the '90s fantasy commercials depicting Pepsi as a veritable soda fountain of youth, transforming nursing-home residents into skateboarders. Pepsi's advertising slogan not too long ago was "The Choice of a New Generation," which could almost be Obama's. Certainly his strategy in the general election, as it did in the primaries, will rely on youth support that is almost as fanatical and fantastic as the fictional version in Pepsi's ads. Both Pepsi and Obama try to reach younger people. Obama is the frist politician who has become famous for his political media campaigns including new media systems like the internet and, of course, blogging. (source http://www.slate.com/id/2198198)
These are only few arguments that strengthen the connection between Obama and Pepsi. The rest is just a guess or perhaps “only a strange coincidence”…
Can you imagine why Obama should cooperate with a soft drink company? Only for money for his election campaign or are there other reasons? Is this a phenomenon that could only take place in the USA or have you already heard of German politicians cooperating with large companies? Is this legal?
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