Alabama Baptists wanting to boycott Pepsi or other soda manufacturers because of a patriotic can design will have to cancel their plans.
E-mails have been circulating that claim PepsiCo has designed a patriotic can that leaves out the words, “under God” from the pledge.
The e-mails are based on a false rumor and are faintly linked to Dr Pepper, instead, said the Web site www.urbanlegends.about.com, which investigates e-mail petitions and other rumors.
In a statement from PepsiCo’s Web site, the company said, “Pepsi has not created any America’s Pledge of Allegiance. A patriotic package used last year by Dr Pepper was inappropriately linked to this rumor.”
The rumor, first aimed at Dr Pepper, began after the company issued a special edition can displaying the Statue of Liberty with the words “One Nation….Indivisible.” Dr Pepper, in a statement on its Web site, said the can, which was released after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was meant to reflect the company’s pride in America’s “determination to stand together as one.”
The statement continued, “Only three words were used from the Pledge of Allegiance. Those three words were in concert with the patriotic mood of the nation.”
The limited edition cans were retired in February 2002, and the company does not plan to re-lease them.
According to the Web site, www.snopes.com, another rumor-busting site, the e-mail petitions seemed to die down after this statement was posted. However, the petitions — now crediting Pepsi, and sometimes Coca-Cola — found new momentum after the June trial regarding the constitutionality of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
All companies involved stated that little if any truth could be found in the petitions.
Visit Snopes or Urban Legends for more information and links to further research. Other sources include Pepsi and Dr Pepper at www.pepsiworld.com and ww.dpsu.com. Follow the direct links on their home pages to read their full statements.
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