Infinite Monkeys

I totally agree with you. However, Pepsi does have one redeeming product: Sierra Mist. It is as good or better than Sprite. 7up doesn't hold up to either of them.

I disagree about SM. I don't DISlike it, but of the three you mentioned, it is my least favorite. Like most Pepsi products, I find it too sweet for my liking. 7-Up is my favorite lemon-lime soda.

Really? I like Sierra Mist. Sprite seems really sweet to me, and 7-Up is kind of one dimensional.

By the way, any chance of you posting a link to what "Pepsigate" is? Say, Lileks' take?

I bailed on Pepsi Co. back in "96. As a C-SAPN junkie (at the time), I was disgusted by Pepsi's over-the-top sponsorship of the 20 year anniversary celebration of the fall of Saigon and the birth of Ho Chi Mihn City. Yeah, I know, it sounds like something I made up. But you should have witnessed the spectacle.

I've tried to put in the perspective of "look at all thered, white and blue banners - symbols of free market commerce - we have an overt foothold despite having grasped defeat from theclaws of victory there." But I just can't sell myself on the rightness of sponsoring and putting a happy soda-commercial face on such a dark dog & pony show.

Look for them to do it again as we approach the30 year anniversary.

If this were a post, perhaps I'd name it "Emerging Markets at Any Cost?" with a tagline, "At Long Last, Have You No Sense of Decency, Sirs?"

(In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I have failed to maintain a complete boycott on the too-numerous-to-count tentacles of the Pepsi Co. monster, i.e. Taco Bell, KFC [which our family affectionately calls "Chicken Butt"], etc.. AND... it's been awfully easy for me to avoid Pepsi over the last year and a half with my abandonment of caffeinated drinks containing real sugar or aspartame. But thhat won't stop me from griping like an old man waving his cane in the air. Why, back in my day...)

PepsiCo sold their restaurant businesses. Now it is Pepsi, FritoLay, Tropican, Quaker, Gatorade and, apparently in California, Starbucks.

http://www.pepsico.com/company/brands_links.shtml

Oh, no. I always knew Starbucks was evil. But I've been sucked in. I'm ruined. Can't we just get someone fired... or... something?

I avoid Starbucks when I can. A couple of years ago, they changed out all of their Espresso/Cappuccino machines and replaced them with these fully-automatic models that make the espresso taste burnt. My favorite chain by far is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf:

http://coffeebean.com

Of course, I needs my fix, so if Starbucks is my only option, that's where I go. Grande breve no-foam latte, please!

Hosted a big party last night. I was in charge of buying beverages and snacks -- not a Pepsi or Frito-Lay product to be seen at my house.

Boo, Lays Potato Chips.

Hooray, Poore Brothers!

BTW, the new Splenda Diet Coke got rave reviews from my wife and our guests.