Pepsi cola is one of the most successful products ever sold.   We all remember the taste tests between coke and pepsi in the eighties, and how pop stars from Michael Jackson to Britney Spears have hawked Pepsi's charms.  Yet not all of Pepsi's advertising campaigns have been successful.  Some have been down right disastrous.  Farshot.com boldly takes a look at some of Pepsi's failed advertising campaigns.

    "It's Meshuggeneh, Bitch!"

     This campaign was first launched in Israel.  Advertisers were trying to reach out to the jewish community with this ad, but they didn't want to turn off the younger crowd.  So, they hired half jewish Lenny Kravitz.  The whole concept of extreme meshuggeneh (crazy or insane) just didn't sit well with the jewish community.  Older jews hated the rock star look, and the younger jews didn't buy into it. After heated protests, the ad campaign was pulled less than a week after it began.

     "Dances With Pepsi"

     This ad campaign was made during the "Dances With Wolves" movie craze.  This ad campaign sparked controversy as it showed Kevin Costner giving an indian a pepsi and after the noble brave takes a drink, says, "How, how about that?  I hated seeing my village burned, my wife raped, and my children's heads bashed in with rocks, but after a pepsi, it was worth it!"  Coca Cola was the first to complain, their arguement being that only a coke and a smile would have made the Native American's suffering worth it.   After three Pepsi executives were found scalped with cans of pepsi shoved up their rectums, Pepsi pulled the plug.

     Jailbird Pepsi

     Thsi ill-fated concept occured during the early ninties when the Boyz in the Hood type movies were a big hit.  There was a news item going around discussing how there were more young black males in prison than any other type of demographic.  Pepsi saw it's chance and the "Jailbird Pepsi" campaign was launched.  It did well at first, and Pepsi was truly the choice of an incarcerated generation.  It all came to a sudden halt when Leroy "Mad Cow" Denafrue stabbed thirty-seven inmates with a shiv he made from a pepsi can because he thought they were making fun of his invisible squirrel, Jingles.  Sadly, Pepsi did a 187, and yanked the ad.

     It just goes to show that even the best ads can go awry.  What may sound good on the drawing board can be misinterpreted by the public, such as Coca Cola's "Don't be gay, drink coke today!" slogan it test launched in San Francisco.  Farshot.com has hoped this has given you some insight into the advertising world and that you have become a better person for it.  Thank you, and good day.