| Update: February 18, 2003 |
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| The Pepsi Boycott is over. According
to a Pepsico spokesman, Pepsi is setting up a 6-person steering committee
comprised of 2 people from the Hip-Hop Action Network, 1 person from the
Ludacris Foundation, and 3 people from Pepsico. Pepsi will administer the
$1Million fund dedicated helping children. The money will be disbursed to
several charities in multiple cities, and several organizations in each city
upon unanimous consent of all members of the committee. |
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| February 6, 2003 |
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Background:August 27, 2002 - Fox News Channel
commentator and host of The O'Reilly Factor Bill O'reilly urged people to
boycott Pepsi after Pepsi decided to run a commercial featuring rapper
Ludacris. The boycott is based on Pepsi hiring a spokesman who is "peddling
antisocial behavior" according to O'Reilly.
Pepsi pulled the ads with
24 hours.Click Here for the original
report. |
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| Pepsi in the middle: |
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Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons
threatens a boycott against Pepsi if they don't run an ad featuring rapper
Ludacris that Pepsi pulled after Fox News Channel's Bill O'reilly issued a
boycott because Pepsi intended to run it. The ad came under fire last August by
O'reilly because he feels Ludacris is a bad role model who uses foul language
and degrades women in his music and videos.
According to O'Reilly, Pepsi was inundated with thousands of phone calls from
irate 'Factor' viewers regarding the Ludacris ad. As a result, Pepsi announced
they would pull the ad less than 24 hours after O'Reilly announced his boycott.
Yesterday, O'Reilly denied he called for a boycott.
Boycott Watch wrote O'Reilly as follows: "Even if you did not use the word
'boycott,' by declaring your intention 'not to do business with' and
encouraging your viewers to do the same, you declared a boycott by definition.
Your boycott worked. Pepsi changed their policy within 24 hours."
The showdown begins.
Simmons and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network said the Pepsi boycott would
start next week unless Pepsi airs the ad featuring Ludacris that was pulled
last August. Simmons complaints resulted from Pepsi airing an ad featuring Rock
star and self proclaimed 'Prince of Darkness' Ozzy Osbourne during the Super
Bowl. Osbourne and his family are the stars of MTV's true-life drama 'The
Osbornes,' which would make Ozzie and Harriet Nelson cringe, even without all
the bleeped out foul language. The ad, which also featured Donnie and Marie
Osmond, aired during the recent Super Bowl, just a few months after Pepsi
backed out of airing the Ludacris ad.
Simmons accused
Pepsi of applying a double standard. "They are being hypocritical in this
case," Simmons said.
Boycott Watch will follow this
story as it progresses. |
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