PepsiCo sparked the debate by launching an ad campaign hinging on Obama’s arrival in the White House. Posters promptly appeared around the capital echoing various buzzwords from Obama’s speeches, such as ‘Yes you can’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Optimismmmm’. In each slogan, the letter ‘O’ was replaced by Pepsi’s redesigned globe logo featuring a lopsided ‘smile’, looking remarkably like the rising sun logo of the president’s election campaign. The theme was repeated in print and TV ads.
Pepsi denied revamping its logo specifically for this purpose, adding that the campaign wasn’t intended as a political endorsement. “We’re not interested in following political tailwinds,” said company spokeswoman Nicole Bradley, “but we are interested in cultural change.”
However, the ads prompted speculation into whether the president and all his men actually drink Pepsi, or if they prefer the flagship brand of arch rival Coca-Cola. According to Time magazine’s Michael Scherer, there’s no real contest: in the White House, “Coke is it”.
Scherer reports that a number of senior administration officers are committed drinkers of Diet Coke, which dominates in coolers around the building. He also recounts how Obama aides spurned a Pepsi vending machine in their campaign headquarters, and stocked a fridge with their own supplies of Coke.
Although Obama himself has been spotted drinking Pepsi on at least one occasion, the health-conscious president is apparently not a big drinker of either brand of fizzy drink, generally preferring water. But he is known to be a fan of Honest Tea, which is 40% owned by Coke.
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