Pepsi or Coke: Which will Kareena sip?

Pummy Kaul in New Delhi

Kareena Kapoor

The big fizz to sign on celebrities seems to have begun, once again. And this time, the traditional rivals, the two soft drink majors, Pepsi and Coke are at it again.

And the happening star being given a close look is none other than the current hot favourite, Kareena Kapoor who has emerged amongst the top in the popularity charts, with her recent films that include Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai and Yaadein.

The big question now: which way will Kareena look? If Pepsi is close to a deal, will Coke let go of the opportunity so easily?

According to Pepsi spokesperson, he confirmed that while the talks between Pepsi and Kareena are at an ‘advanced stage’, the deal was yet to be signed.

Industry observers however feel that given Coke’s reputation and ability for snapping up deals by offering huge amounts to celebrities, like what it has done in the past, Pepsi may not be taking any chance this time and is keeping its cards close to its chest.

Coke, on the other hand, maintains that while they had made early moves to sign up Kareena, it found the asking price from the actress too high. If that’s too hard to digest, given the kind of money that it has splurged on advertising and signing celebrities in the past, there is also an industry perspective that Coke may go slow now because taking Kareena in its portfolio of film stars could also mean a conflict of image and brand perception with Aishwarya Rai, Coke’s current celebrity endorser.

But will better business sense prevail over Coke? For, in the fickle world of popularity charts and movie hits, Aishwarya has not had too many movie hits in recent times.

Pepsi, on the other hand, has a large portfolio of sports celebrities but only a few film celebrities, and Kareena might just be the right star to add glitter to its repertoire of celebrities and brand as well. The question: who will blink first?