Pepsi has fired rapper Lil Wayne as their spokesman because of his song lyrics. Didn't they fire Madonna back in the day as well? What is their major malfunction? Do they hate "Urban" entertainers and have a master plan to rid the world of them by buying them in the form of endorsement deals then feel they have the right to tell them how to create their art?
Who are the nimrods at Pepsi's ad agency that thought Lil Wayne's fans would all become Pepsi drinkers if Lil Wayne appeared in their commercials? If that's what you want, if "street cred" and being hip is your goal then firing your spokesman for doing what he does and for what he did long before your generous offer to buy his soul is shooting yourself in the foot. If Pepsi didn't want to associate itself with homophobic or sexist song lyrics then why make deals with rappers like Lil Wayne and Tyler the Creator who was also fired earlier in the week because of his rap lyrics?
Or, is this all some diabolical conspiracy among the Hip-hop community to steal money from mega corporations like Pepsico? Perhaps both Lil Wayne and Tyler the Creator are rappers along the lines of Fresh Prince Will Smith or Run DMC and are known for their clean cut, wholesome version of Hip-hop but once the contracts are signed they intentionally record misogynist and homophobic rap lyrics specifically designed to break their contracts. Then, rather than looking like sell outs to the MAN the Hip-hop community knows that they've pulled a scam, ripped off tens, or hundreds of thousands, of dollars and didn't have to do much more than shoot a few Pepsi spots. Their long term contracts lasting a matter of weeks instead of years. Genius!
OR... Pepsi is the fiendish mastermind who hires these guys knowing full well and with their entire support that they're going to be controversial and realise that the press they get from firing them will be much more effective than spending more millions on shooting TV spots starring them. After all, if Pepsi had simply signed Lil Wayne and made a series of TV commercials with him I would have never even noticed the TV spots and most certainly would not be writing about Pepsi right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment