Barack Obama, sales associate
When Slate chronicled the affinities between Barack Obama and Pepsi last August, those connections may have been (in author James Ledbetter's words) "largely accidental."
Not anymore. In case you missed it, Pepsi's doing its damndest to co-opt Obamania with its "Refresh Everything" campaign, which involves the uploading of video messages for the president (to a dedicated YouTube channel, natch) and participate in additional "fun experiences" still to be announced.
To be fair Pepsi isn't alone: in particular, the media (including the Boston Globe) have been using Obama to boost their own brands ever since the election.
That being the case, though, I wonder: at what point will the Obama-as-marketing-tool backlash kick in? Because speaking personally, Pepsi's approach makes me want to stick to Coke.
