Pepsi: I'm calling this one an ethical fight

[Tiassa]

Pepsi pours cold water on girl's project

By The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. — West Salem High School cheerleader Andrea Boyes didn't mean to land in hot water with soft-drink giant Pepsi.

The 15-year-old just wanted to raise money for her new squad, which can't afford to travel to national competitions or hire an assistant coach. So Boyes hit upon what she thought was a bright idea: to sell bottled water bearing a label with her school logo at school events. She got a $750 donation for startup costs, designed a label, had 6,000 printed, found a supplier and ordered 15 cases.

Then Pepsi, which has an exclusive 10-year, $5 million contract with the district, got wind of the deal. The contract allows only Pepsi products, including its Aquafina brand water, to be sold on school grounds. The district also has exclusive contracts with food-service, furniture, athletic-equipment and computer dealers. "It was really disappointing," said Boyes, who had hoped to net 55 cents in profit for every $1 bottle sold. "I guess now we'll just have more car washes."

George Hall, the school district's purchasing director, said he has been working with Pepsi officials on a compromise that would help the cheerleaders raise money, perhaps by letting the group sell Aquafina water and keep the profit that otherwise would go to the school.

Gary Boyes, Andrea's dad, said the group likely will sell its Titan water off-campus at local businesses and events. But he still hopes for a compromise with Pepsi.

Pepsi officials did not respond to requests for comment.

John Borowski, a science teacher at North Salem High School, has been a harsh critic of school-district cola contracts. He says they are turning the schools, formerly one of the last bastions of noncommercialism, into a training ground for lifelong junk-food consumers. "Isn't this a clear case of exploitation, that they get wind of this girl and they fear it's going to cut into their profit margin?" he said.

School soft-drink deals have come under fire recently for promoting obesity and tooth decay in children. Some school districts, such as the Los Angeles Unified School District in California, the nation's second-largest, are banning the sale of soft drinks during school hours or altogether.



Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company

See also, the Salem Statesman-Journal, Pepsi nixes school fundraiser

Well?

• What do you think?
• What are schools for?
• Is this really what's important to Americans?

Perverse: My opinion: Yo, Pepsi! You've got to be kidding!
Ridiculous: The assertion that sales and market share take priority over education.
Stupid: This is how Americans want things. This is what happens when our communities refuse to support the schools educating their own children.

I'm thinking of a two-word phrase to send to Pepsi. It's not civil. I think you know what it would be. (Hint: the second word is "off".)

thanx,
Tiassa

 

[Adam]

What's next? You can only have McDonalds in the school cafeteria, because the bought the contract? Why not? That's exactly the same as the Pepsi deal. Surely if they buy the contract, no other food suppliers can sell through the school. Makes sense. Eat up, kids.

On the other hand, it serves as a valuable lesson to the kiddies: law and business is set up to make me money and screw you over. Maybe the girl will become a vicious businesswoman and make a fortune now, thanks to that example.

PS: Yes, that perpetuates cheap materialism. That was kinda my point.

 

[Thor]

Well, they got a good lesson in life. Big companies are out for numero uno and rarely do things out of generosity...actually, they never do anything out of generosity. Everything good these big companies do is for publicity.

 

[Tiassa]

Title added on edit

On the other hand, it serves as a valuable lesson to the kiddies: law and business is set up to make me money and screw you over.

It is, indeed, an infinitely valuable lesson that will hurt Pepsi in the long run. But what of the kiddies? The lesson here seems to be to not trust the people who make deals on your behalf. It's a consideration.

Yes, that perpetuates cheap materialism. That was kinda my point.

Shall we declare a holiday?

Actually, we agree on more than people might think.

But to haul that into the ethical argument, is this really what's important to people? Or at least Americans?

It's kind of a frightening testament in that sense: The purpose of involving businesses like Coke & Pepsi was allegedly because it would benefit the schools.

We see what that's worth to Pepsi.

(I'm crushed; Pepsi was my choice between the two majors. Thankfully I'm on a caffeine-suppression kick; I drink more A&W root beer than Pepsi. But it still hurts.)


(Edit: Fifteen cases? Fifteen cases? Pepsi felt threatened by fifteen freaking cases of bottled water?)

thanx,
Tiassa

 

[Xev]

Pepsi had a contract. In a civilized society, contracts are honoured. End of story.

However I may feel about civilization and society, it's likely best that we choose to honour contracts rather than choose to watch a bunch of chicks wiggle their arses.

*Edit*

Bad PR for Pepsi, though. Dumb move. They've protected a small profit at the expense of what could be millions of dollars worth of bad PR.

 

[Adam]

Xev

Which is more important:
- The spirit of the law?
- The letter of the law?

Or in religious terms:
- Words written by humans to try to reflect something rather large and impressive?
- Or the large and impressive thing itself?

My point? A culture of perfectly and intricately defined rights and responsibilities, focusing on minutiae of form for every separate circumstance, would in my opinion result in a truly awful place to live, a society not suited to human nature, in which the stress of fitting every facet of life into some tiny pigeonhole for each matter would basically ruin us. I'm all for broad, simple rules which set some basic guidelines and then allow absolute freedom for all else (I posted some examples or such rules somewhere, some ideas I was developing for a science fiction story).

On the other hand, if you make a deal, you stick to it. Kids need to learn that too. But perhaps they could learn honourable conduct through education (shock! horror!) rather than through being deprived of the opportunity to demonstrate initiative and enterprise.

 

[Xev]

Adam:

I don't defend Pepsi's actions. They were stupid. However, Pepsi was well within their "rights" -i.e the standards our society has set up - to act as they did.

As for the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law, law is only necessary to protect the weak from the weak. Thus any "spirit" of the law is rather pointless to me. While flexibility is necessary, those who can adhere to the letter of the law must do this or become judges and executers of their own law.

Teaching honourable conduct? Piffle. Honourable conduct is another sham to protect the weak from the weak. It has its utility, but I don't think it's a good thing for schools to be in the value teaching business.

 

[CounslerCoffee]

• What do you think?
Pepsi was within its rights. They had a deal. On the other the cheerleader probably had no idea that such an agreement excisted, most people probably didnt know until now, I sure as hell didnt.

• What are schools for?
Well, I would say that schools are for learning... what does cheerleading have to do with education? Wasn't pepsi helping to raise money for the school? To buy new computers, books, etc.

• Is this really what's important to Americans?
Not to me. I dont really care. Im not in highschool anymore. But yes it's in my opinion that the world has just gone retarded.

 

[yumyum]

law and business is set up to make me money and screw you over.

yeah no room for the little people. Is there any way that money could be replaced so we wouldn't have this problem?

o and my school has a contract with coke

 

[Tiassa]

Xev

You'd think though that if anything but money was important to Pepsi, they would have offered a better contract. You know, if education was important?

Pepsi may be within their rights, but so were slave owners.

thanx,
Tiassa

 

[CounslerCoffee]

Speaking of coke, or pepsi, or pop, or whatever you call it in your region. Take a look at this:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/11/05/mecca.cola/index.html

 

[wet1]

This is a case of penny wise and dollar foolish. The estimated profits that those few bottles of water would have eaten to Pepsi's corporate gains are little compared to what the backlash of such reactions might/will be across the nation.

The smartest thing that Pepsi could have done would have been to contribute the necessary funds to make the fund raising unnecessary. This would have been tax deductible and would have been a tremendous coup for their product within the local area. It would have most likely gained them lifetime consumers.

As it is it will be an example for not allowing contract of exclusivity with commercial businesses within schools. News of such doings will spread. The backlash across the nation will likely cost far more than either turning a blind eye to the problem or lending a helping hand. The bright idiot that decided to enforce the contract should be facing a firing.

 

[CounslerCoffee]

The bright idiot that decided to enforce the contract should be facing a firing.

Unless that person has a contract with pepsi...

 

[prozak]

Originally posted by tiassa
Pepsi pours cold water on girl's projectSee also, the Salem Statesman-Journal, Pepsi nixes school fundraiser

Well?

• What do you think?
• What are schools for?
• Is this really what's important to Americans?

Perverse: My opinion: Yo, Pepsi! You've got to be kidding!
Ridiculous: The assertion that sales and market share take priority over education.
Stupid: This is how Americans want things. This is what happens when our communities refuse to support the schools educating their own children.

I'm thinking of a two-word phrase to send to Pepsi. It's not civil. I think you know what it would be. (Hint: the second word is "off".)

thanx,
Tiassa

T, I don't disagree with your impulse here, but you're forgetting that America is a big marketplace. If you don't want stuff like this to occur, you have to combat the virus of "capitalism" and "individualism" (convenience) at the most basic level: the ideological level, reprogramming the thought virus itself. This is what Nietzsche understood... hopefully useful.

Since we can't swear in church here rolleyes: ) I'll say that I echo your message to pepsi and always have. I don't drink soft drinks. They're garbage. One cent of sugar water in a can for 60 cents? Puhleeze.

 

[ndrs]

I don't see how Pepsi is at fault here either..
Why blame Pepsi? They should blame their district gov...

*Edit*

I remember a worse contract.. One uni I used to work for signed a contract with Microsoft, so they use only their software... Wasn't a bad uni either..

 

[Tiassa]

Prozak ... NDRS

Prozak

T, I don't disagree with your impulse here, but you're forgetting that America is a big marketplace.

The thing is that private money in public schools has been a source of debate. While companies say they want to "help education", what they really want is the education of future consumers. Nine-hundred kids trapped in a school? What better advertising audience can you think of?

Hence my problem with the situation: Pepsi has no interest in helping the school. Despite all that talk, their participation is merely a stunt for market-share.

I don't mind the principles, I just wish someone could be honest about them. But then again, who would accept it if a company said, "We want to indoctrinate your children to our products"?

So what I'm actually upset about is that this is what seems to be important to Americans. This is the world they've created for their children. Does anyone wonder what's wrong with this nation?

If you don't want stuff like this to occur, you have to combat the virus of "capitalism" and "individualism" (convenience) at the most basic level: the ideological level, reprogramming the thought virus itself.

Agreed. Both ideas have their benefits, but if money and the self are what is important to people, they shall have it in abundance, as we can see. We're a rich nation with a huge crime rate, among other things, partially because of the wreck we've made of schools over the long run. Pepsi's money is supposed to help improve the situation, but it seems that Pepsi doesn't care about that.

This is what Nietzsche understood... hopefully useful.

I'll take your word for it.

What I've never understood about Nietzsche is how, if what you say is true, it has come to be that the clear statistical majority of people I know who employ Nietzsche in their personal philosophies do so to advocate essential selfishness.

I'll take your word for it, but I've observed a different human result.

NDRS

I don't see how Pepsi is at fault here either..
Why blame Pepsi? They should blame their district gov...

To be honest, I blame the voting citizens. They have caused this situation, encouraged their schools to take this solution, and bad contracts like these are pretty much all that's available.

It really does seem that this is what Americans think is right. That's what's so disturbing.

I know the people at Pepsi are penny-pinching (fill in your preferred disparaging description); they're supposed to be. They have a history of it. We know this about American business, that it cares for nothing but profit margins.

But those businesses are made up of people who, for whatever reasons, choose that it should be this way.

It's the fact that this seems the right way to do things that disturbs me so much. The people have apparently decided that the education of their children is not their responsibility.

thanx,
Tiassa