Pepsi could never write for Blotch. Twits with iPhones began tweeting o’plenty after the company released an application that some people deemed offensive.
So what did Pepsi do after taking flak? They did what almost everybody does these days when criticized for political incorrectness – they offered an insincere, half-assed apology.
This MSN article describes how Pepsi tweeted an apology for its new Apple iPhone application designed to instruct men on how to “pick up the ladies.” (If the apology were sincere, Pepsi would have withdrawn the app, which they didn’t).
The app dispenses pickup lines, categorizes women, gives tips on what topics of conversation work best with each type of gal, and offers a brag list where guys can keep track of their conquests.
Since it’s effortless to tweet a protest these days, Twitterers tweeted their angry little hearts out.
Of course, pissed-off folks are more likely to complain than the 200 million other people who enjoyed the promotion or, more likely, didn’t care one way or the other.
Pepsi has tried to present itself as Coke’s hipper, younger cousin for years. Back in the early 1990s, the company slogan was “Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi.”
Other slogans: “Generation Next,” “For Those Who Think Young,” and “Why You Doggin’ Me?”
How about this for their 2010 slogan — “Totally, Like, Phat And Young And Stuff But Also Willin’ To Say, ‘Sorry Dawg’ If We Offend Anyone.”
