Target Market News

THE LATEST NEWS
Pepsi says rumors that endorser Kanye West has been dropped are false

By Remmie Fresh
AllHipHop.com
(Sept 27, 2005) A widespread boycott of Pepsi has mistakenly detailed that rapper Kanye West has been dropped from the soft drink giant’s current marketing campaign for comments made against President George Bush.

A statement from “boycott organizer” Shondell Towns was emailed to a group list of thousands of African American professionals mostly located in California. Still, the viral nature of the content has caused the message to be forwarded across the nation.

“This is to inform you that you've received an erroneous email regarding Kanye West and Pepsi. The letter said that Kanye has lost his endorsement deal with Pepsi, which is not true,” Nicole Bradley, Public Relations manager of Pepsi-Cola North America told AllHipHop.com

The rumors emerged in the weeks after Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn't care about black people” on a nationally televised telethon for survivors of Hurricane Katrina earlier this month. While the statement created a countrywide uproar, Pepsi said their dealings with Kanye have stayed the same.

“Our relationship with Kanye has not changed and our marketing campaign is continuing as planned. In fact, his Pepsi commercial is scheduled to air several times this week,” Bradley continued.

Hip-Hop’s dealings with Pepsi haven’t always been on such stable ground.

Russell Simmons and his Hip-Hop Summit Action Network nearly boycotted Pepsi products in 2003 after the company suddenly released rapper Def Jam Ludacris from a popular ad campaign.

At the time, Bill O'Reilly branded Pepsi "immoral" for using Ludacris to promote the soft drink and, based on about 3,000 subsequent phone calls to his Fox News show, Pepsi bowed to the pressure.

Eventually, Pepsi agreed to donate $3 million to various grassroots community organizations in urban areas.

Go to Target Market News homepage


Saturday, September 10, 2005 HOME \| STATS \| PUBLICATIONS \| REGISTER \| CONTACT US
Departments Advertising & PR News Marketing News TV & Cable News Radio News Magazine News Newspaper News Internet News Retailing News Consumer Research Expenditure Data People in the News Industry News Company Bios and Background Register Here STAY IN-THE-KNOW! Are you getting the latest industry news when it happens via e-mail? Click here for free delivery of the Target Market News Bulletin You'll receive news of breaking stories, exclusives, updates and headlines on the latest developments in African American marketing and media Black Stats Frequently requested data on African American consumers Black Buying Power: $656 Billion (2003) Black U.S. Population: 38.3 million Top Five Black Cities - New York - Chicago - Detroit - Philadelphia - Houston Top Five Black Metros: - New York-New Jersey - Washington-Baltimore - Chicago-Gary - Los Angeles - Philadelphia Top Five Expenditures: - Housing 145.2 bil. - Food 56.5 bil. - Cars/Trucks 32.6 bil. - Clothing 23.0 bil. - Health Care 18.0 bil. Click here for more stats from "The Buying Power of Black America." ______________________ Get quick access to key U.S. Census Bureau Data Click here to go to African-American Census Bureau data _____________________ Copyright `© 2005 by Target Market News Inc.` All rights reserved Business address: 228 S. Wabash Ave. Suite 210 Chicago, IL 60604 t. 312-408-1881 f. 312-408-1867 info@targetmarketnews.com	THE LATEST NEWS Pepsi says rumors that endorser Kanye West has been dropped are false By Remmie Fresh AllHipHop.com (Sept 27, 2005) A widespread boycott of Pepsi has mistakenly detailed that rapper Kanye West has been dropped from the soft drink giant’s current marketing campaign for comments made against President George Bush. A statement from “boycott organizer” Shondell Towns was emailed to a group list of thousands of African American professionals mostly located in California. Still, the viral nature of the content has caused the message to be forwarded across the nation. “This is to inform you that you've received an erroneous email regarding Kanye West and Pepsi. The letter said that Kanye has lost his endorsement deal with Pepsi, which is not true,” Nicole Bradley, Public Relations manager of Pepsi-Cola North America told AllHipHop.com The rumors emerged in the weeks after Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn't care about black people” on a nationally televised telethon for survivors of Hurricane Katrina earlier this month. While the statement created a countrywide uproar, Pepsi said their dealings with Kanye have stayed the same. “Our relationship with Kanye has not changed and our marketing campaign is continuing as planned. In fact, his Pepsi commercial is scheduled to air several times this week,” Bradley continued. Hip-Hop’s dealings with Pepsi haven’t always been on such stable ground. Russell Simmons and his Hip-Hop Summit Action Network nearly boycotted Pepsi products in 2003 after the company suddenly released rapper Def Jam Ludacris from a popular ad campaign. At the time, Bill O'Reilly branded Pepsi "immoral" for using Ludacris to promote the soft drink and, based on about 3,000 subsequent phone calls to his Fox News show, Pepsi bowed to the pressure. Eventually, Pepsi agreed to donate $3 million to various grassroots community organizations in urban areas. Go to Target Market News homepage	11th Annual Edition Available 'Buying Power' report reveals surge by black households for consumer electronics Despite tighter economic times, African-American households are significantly increasing their expenditures on consumer electronics for the home, according to the newest edition of The Buying Power of Black America report. In many categories such as video games, televisions, CD players, cable TV service and sound equipment, black households are spending more on average than their white counterparts. According to the 103-page report, black households had $656 billion in earned income in 2003, an increase of 3.9% over the $631 earned in 2002. Read more and see the latest expenditure figures for black consumers SUBSCRIBE TODAY! The trade publication for in-depth coverage of Black Consumer Marketing and Media news ORDER THE WORKBOOK NOW! The sixth annual event examining the latest trends, findings and practices in marketing to African-American consumers Presentations from: America Online Arbitron Inc. Burrell Carol H. Williams Advertising E. Morris Communications Ethnic Print Media Group GlobalHue Hunter-Miller Group Images USA Nia Online NSights Worldwide LLC On Wheels Inc. R.J. Dale Advertising & P.R. Target Market News U.S. Census Bureau ...and more!