Ronaldinho Sips Pepsi Loses Coca-Cola Deal
Would you pay upward of $750,000 for a Pepsi? Ronaldinho just did. Coca-Cola has ended its expensive relationship with the former star of Brazilian soccer after he sipped from a can of Pepsi during a recent news conference.
For current and future Coca-Cola spokespersons, here are some best practices for endorsing Coke. 1) Drink it. 2) Don’t drink Pepsi.
Ronaldinho stunned Coke chiefs by turning up at a press conference and sipping nonchalantly from a can of their arch-rivals’ fizzy pop. Furious bosses at the Atlanta-based firm immediately demanded that the plug be pulled on his huge endorsement deal, according to a report in the ‘O Estado de Sao Paulo’ newspaper.
“The fact that the player has appeared with a can of Pepsi was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Coca Cola marketing chief Marcelo Pontes told the paper. “The sponsorship had become embarrassing.”



