HOLLYWOOD - When was the last time you asked your mom if it was OK to drink a soda? I remember being about eight; my mom always struck a fair bargain telling me I could have that pop as long as I drank a glass of milk first. Ah, the conditions of childhood!Now that I'm all grown up, I can decide for myself what I'll have to drink. When I reach for a root beer, no problem; if I reach for a Sprite, no problem. Or at least I thought that was a reward for coming of age until I read a recent gossip article about pop star Britney Spears. (Pop, of course, holds a double meaning for Spears: she's a teeny-bopper and Pepsi's latest celebrity representative).
I got to thinking, would I want to go back to asking my mom every time I opened my drink of choice? Of course not, but Britney Spears has to. Well, she doesn't ask her mom, but she does have to consult her Pepsi contract. I wonder if it drives her "Crazy?"
Now in case you haven't seen any of her flashy, music video commercials this year, the 19-year-old singer is an official representative of corporate giant Pepsi, and after signing a $97.5 million deal, one might say she is owned by Pepsi. Undoubtedly, that's a nice chunk of change; however, it's also at the cost of her personal freedom.
Britney can't drink Coke, and she wants to.
Or at least the tabloids are saying she enjoys Coke's products over Pepsi's. Well darn it, shouldn't someone who makes $97 million be able to choose? No way. She has signed away her drinking rights, and a spokesperson for Pepsi backs that up. "It will be made clear to her that she should only drink Pepsi." How's that for motherly admonishment? It serves her right.
Britney lied.
When the deal was made public in February, the BBC reported Spears as saying that her sign-on with Pepsi was "such an honor" because "I'm a big fan of Pepsi products and Pepsi commercials." Yeah, right.
Two times in one month Britney palmed Coke products. First it was a Coca-Cola while she was in Australia, proving that even the Outback could afford her no protection from the Pepsi police. Then, oops! She did it again Wednesday when she was seen holding a Sunkist as she walked out of a recording studio.
C'mon Britney, you've been a star long enough to know you were going to be seen. That was blatant rebellion and plain dishonesty.
Britney needs to grow up.
She can't be signing million dollar contracts and then expect to do what she pleases. She's been purchased! Besides, it simply shows a lack of commitment. She needs to realize that the mighty dollar confines her rather than makes her free. No joke, Britney: no Coke.
But I'm going hard on her, I know. So I think, "Give her a break; she's young. She'll learn." But she keeps doing it.
Her latest signing includes a deal with AOL. (Thank goodness AOL has acquired Netscape and partnered with Microsoft so she can use her choice of browser. Whew.) Supposedly, she'll get constant promotion across the AOL Web site in return for hosting various chat groups with AOL subscribers. Seems like a fair and easy deal, right? Well, she also has to include the latest version of AOL software in every copy of her upcoming album. WOAH. Do I hear "I'm a Slave 4 U?" playing in the background?
The point is that she seems to be motivated solely by money, so I say fine. No matter how thirsty she gets, no more Coke.
I mean, how many times is she going to sell out, anyway? If McDonalds approached her, do you think she'd take the deal? (They only serve Coke.) I'm betting she'd agree to it via singing telegram: "Hit me baby one more time."
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