Ricardo Lavolpe (in the picture), the coach of the Mexico national soccer team, started a new fight between Coca-Cola and Pepsi...

As you can see on his sweatshirt... Coca-Cola is the official sponsor of the Mexico national soccer team and the Mexican Football Federation, but Lavolpe, the coach, appeared in a Pepsi ad, Coca-Cola became upset because the coach appeared in a Pepsi commercial while it's sponsored by Coca-Cola... Coca-Cola will sue the Mexican Football Federation if this commercial appears on TV, so the football federation started negotiations with Pepsi to convince them to not air the commercial... Pepsi said, OK, we'll not air the commercial... but we want TWO MILLION DOLLARS... The commercials are now on TV, and lets see how Coke acts...

This is the commercial that started the controversy...

http://videos.eluniversal.com.mx/lavolpe.html

In this video appears a mexican rock band called Molotov and two football stars (and also mexican soccer team players): Rafael Marquez (the curly haired guy) and Francisco "Kikin" Fonseca (the white jacket guy), and almost in the end of the ad appears Ricardo Lavolpe... and in this one too...

http://videos.eluniversal.com.mx/segundo.html

IMO, the ads are really really dumb and Lavolpe shouldn't had participate in this ads, because the ads are dumb and because he knew he had already a commitment of sponsorship with Coca-Cola... what do you think?

[ 05-11-2006, 11:45 PM: Message edited by: Ramón Cokeaholic ]

Well I guess it depends on how the contract reads between Coke and:

#1 the Mexico National Soccer Team
#2 the Mexican Football Federation

If the "coach" or players are not specifically referenced in said contract, then there may be some gray area there. However, its still not a good situation as the coach wears a Coke jersey during games...I can definitely understand why Coke would be upset.

As for Pepsi, they apparently entered an agreement with the coach and upon hearing he was "backing out" of the deal, they had to cover the money they already had invested in the commercials. They have just as much right to do that as Coke has to be upset...IMHO.

Either way...a very tough situation.

coke is probably doing more damage by creating a fuss than if they just would've let the whole thing go.

no one probably even noticed. and even if they did... they probably didn't care.

now they just look like a spoiled sport. i mean, i understand why they're upset, but still...