Posted on 05/21/2005 12:33:44 PM PDT by Cableguy
For a glimpse of the blogosphere's growing power, witness the brouhaha now afflicting PepsiCo (PEP ) over comments earlier this week by President and CFO Indra Nooyi before the graduating class of Columbia University's B-school.
Her comparison of the five major continents to the five fingers on her hand -- with the U.S.(not a continent, mind you) being the controversial middle finger and Africa the often-ignored pinkie -- will strike many as entirely innocuous.
As she put it: "Each of us in the U.S. -- the long middle finger -- must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand…not the finger…. Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand -- giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers -- but instead scratching our nose and sending a far different signal." (Click to read the full text of her speech.)
Yet a burst of blog outrage after a May 15 commencement speech has forced the beverage and food giant to post an apology on its home page. That follows an earlier statement from Nooyi in which she restated her love of this "Promised Land" of the United States and protests that she "would never say or do anything to detract from our great nation."
STINGING ASSAULTS. Perhaps Nooyi should have known her remarks would grab attention. She is, after all, is one of the darlings of Corporate America -- a savvy and often witty native of Madras, India, whose rise has been closely followed here and in her home country. But bloggers of all stripes are having a field day with Nooyi's speech.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
She though she was being a wit, but she was only half-right.
Keep tap-dancing, Pepsi. Eventually you'll get it right -- when you do a Pepsi/USO tour to the Troops. And for heaven's sake, FIRE that speech writer. That was THE stupidest, most banal metaphor and the most poorly written speech. And VERY VERY bad judgment on the CFO's part.
You been fingering people again?
If you were truly 'counting' on your fingers, you'd start at one end and move through the fingers. To wait for the middle finger after all the others were presented is patently flipping America the bird.
She has the right to do so, but shouldn't whine about a poorly done presentation when she gets caught out.
Most likely won't take a MBA to track and trend Pepsi's decline and Coke's rise over the next 6 months to a year. I sent their BOD a nasty-gram and didn't even get a canned response. They just failed the taste test.
I don't know Nooyi's politics, but I do know that Pepsi has many Republican and conservative connections. Don Kendall, one of PepsiCo's founders, was very close to Richard Nixon and was with the Vice-President during the famous Kitchen Debate with Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. In 1969, Kendall helped orchestrate President Nixon's inaugural celebrations. PepsiCo's current CEO is Steve Reinemund, a former Marine. Both men have contributed to President Bush's campaigns and other Republican causes, as has Roger Enrico, another former PepsiCo CEO.
Also, PepsiCo has been highly supportive via product donations and in other ways following 9/11 as well as to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not that Nooyi bothered to mention any of that in her speech, which she probably regrets now.
If this is the case, then I hope Pepsi is right now as we speak, making plans to make this right - including getting rid of Ms. aNooying.
Yup. Thanks.
Where do I get my badge?!
"...but shouldn't whine...when she gets caught."
...and there are repercussions... take that--POW! BLAM! BOING!--Ms. Nooyi. Fie on thee!
Just save it off to your web site for future use. Think you may even be able to go to FR home merchandise and buy a real metal one to wear on your jacket.
If all you say is true, then PepsiCo needs to act quickly to disassociate itself with Ms. Nooyi.
Why...thank you very much.
No more Pepsi, Pizza Hut, or Taco Bell for me.
Just out of curiosity, is she actually an American citizen now or ain't she?
I don't know about Pizza Hut, but I believe Hugh Hewitt said that PepsiCo sold Taco Bell a few years back. Sooo, before you forego your favorite burrito, double check.
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