[RonDog]

So what do YOU think?

Should we:

1 - FReep Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. for being "God-less" scum,
2 - Give them a pass for being "insensitive" money-grubbers, or
3 - Add this e-mail campaign to our collection of "Urban Legends?"

See also:
The UN - Godly Pledge of Allegiance ...
Posted on 2/8/02 1:46 AM Pacific by davidosborne

From: B. Lee Pemberton
To: Dr Pepper/7-UP Pres. Doug Tough
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 11:59 AM
Subject: Dr Pepper/7-UP's offensive commercials, and corruption of the Pledge of Allegiance

Dr Pepper/7-Up Inc.
5301 Legacy Drive
Plano, Tx 75024-3109
1.800-696-5891
e-mail: Consumer_relations@dpsu.com
Mr Doug Tough President

Mr Tough;
I recently observed a 7-UP commercial that I found to be both vulgar, obscene and offensive to Christians and other people of any moral persuasion: an actor is walking down a street, removing his clothes until finally he is wearing nothing but his undershorts. He removes the shorts and a crowd around him is depicted staring at him.

I have a question: is business so bad at Dr Pepper/7-UP that you must resort to filth peddling in order to make a buck? What on Earth is the connection between a fine product like 7-UP, and a pervert who takes off his clothes on a public street, and why would such a lascivious display make anyone want to run out and buy your products? Are you now touting 7-UP as the refreshment of choice for flashers and other sexual deviants who expose themselves to an unwilling audience?

And why was the phrase "under God" left out of the Pledge of Allegiance, on the new Dr Pepper can? What anti-God, anti-American heathen among your employees decided that Dr Pepper/7-UP had the right to re-write this patriotic anthem to exclude reference to the God Who caused America to become the greatest nation ever to grace the face of the Earth?

Do you honestly believe there are enough "politically-correct" Socialists and Marxists in America to keep your Company floating -after all the Christians, and other people with some measure of moral standards, stop purchasing your God-less, deviant products? You had better hope so!

Personally, I can assure you that none of your products will pollute my home or office for at least six months after you remove your prurient advertising and un-God-ly Pledge of Allegiance cans from the public view, and I will ask everyone I can contact to do likewise.

Most sincerely,
B. Lee Pemberton
Pastor

Church of the Lion of Judah
Post Office Box 1484
Sarasota, Fl 34230-1484
"Surfing for souls on the Internet!"

Dr. Pepper omits "under God" from Pledge to Flag
Posted on 2/1/02 9:16 AM Pacific by smokinleroy

I heard on the Darrel Ankarlo show on KLIF radio (Dallas/Fort Worth) this morning that some students in Iowa are launching a letter-writing campaign to protest the actions of Dallas based Dr. Pepper. It seems on a recently issued can with a patriotic theme including a picture of the statue of liberty that they printed the Pledge of Allegience to the Flag in which they omitted the phrase "under God". When inquired as to the reason, the company representative said that there was not enough room. Anyone else hear this story?

[CounterCounterCulture]

I say no big whoop.

[MadelineZapeezda]

I can understand why some people are upset that the words 'under God' are missing. I would also hope that these same people get out of bed in the a.m. and worship in the church of their choice. How about it?

[Nan48]

I don't drink Dr. Pepper anyway, and the company certainly has a right to put whatever they want on their cans. However, this action of leaving off "under God" is just an indication to me of their priorities. No surprise.

We are, in fact, one nation under God, which makes us indivisable. If it were not so, we would not exist as a nation.

[AAABEST]

[river rat]

Dr. Pepper should fire the clymer that wrote the "letter of explanation".

1. It was poorly done, and made too much of using 3 words from a pledge of 31 words..

2. They should have shown the can (as they did) and stated the purpose of the can was to show the U.S. as an undivided nation under attack --- not to summarize the pledge.

3. The tone of their message is too defensive and not apologetic to those that were "unintentionally angered".

4. To sign the note "Sincerely, Dr. Pepper/7UP Inc." was stupid.. It should have been "signed" by a human, representing Dr. Pepper/7UP Inc...

Dr. Pepper's management and consultants come across as pretty stupid in this response --- but they make a delicious drink and I will "overlook" this screw up.
Semper Fi

[FryingPan101]

I didn't find the Dr Pepper Patriot can campaign offensive and found it to be, in fact, patriotic. Since I am an Army Brat, Army Wife, and an Army Mother I am always happy to see anything supporting America. I would like to have seen "under God" included but since most of the words from the official Pledge of Allegiance are absent, I found no harm done with just mentioning a few patriotic words. "Let's Roll" would have been nice too. "Bin Laden is a dead man" would have pleased me. That said, however, I thought most of Pastor Pemberton's letter was powerful, to the point and necessary.

[aruanan]

I'd say it's too much ado by people who have WAY too much free time on their hands. The point of the can was to emphasize the united nature of the nation in the context of the recent events. The point of the can was not to promote the desirability of leaving G-d out of things any more than it was promoting the desirability of NOT having liberty and justice for all. If someone is going to make the first point on the basis of a lack of a phrase, he must also make the second if he wants to remain consistent. Unfortunately, consistency is the last thing to be expected from most people who derive their sense of being from bitching.

[Black Cat]

To me, it's a tempest in a soda can. They didn't cite the entire pledge, but rather just three words. And as Snopes noted in it's page on this subject, when a major newsmagazine had a picture of Bush on the cover and those same three words, no one complained. I think the same should be the case here. Often we hear complaints that patriotism is dead, but when an effort is made, and it gets this kind of reception, it only makes it much LESS likely that they'll take the chance again.

[Mission2mars]

God will be seriously upset at not being used as an advertising shill in Dr.Pepper's new campaign. As for their hyperbolic claim that we are, one nation indivisible, this is obviously misleading advertising, as we can easily be divided by petty crap like this.

[runningbear]

I heard of this for the two days on KTKZ with Eric Hogue. I sent him the link as you are now linking. Great show. This is the same essence as the God Bless America on Breen Elementary School outside message board. BS I tell you. There are those who just don't get it either, have pity on them....lol... Product of our educational relations.... lol..

I have been looking for the soda can, but can't find it in either many stores in San Jose, and Modesto. Only hear of Sacramento Raley's stores of Dr. Pepper.

[scouse]

I wouldn't be able to purchase any of their products because most of the money I carry has the words, "in God We Trust" stamped or printed on it. I would just hate to insult Dr Pepper.

[smith288]

I am what you would call, a fundie Christian and I dont have an issue with this. The phrase they chose exhibits unity...thus "One nation, indivisible." and I know what they mean when they use limited space as their reason. People need to stop using a stupid pop can as a reason to call someone Godless. I think we have bigger bones to pick such as the Xlintons and Dasshole. Geez, its like if you took a sip from DrP you are converted into a devil worhiper or something...geez.

[Poser]

This whole issue is ridiculous. They used 3 words... The three they wanted to use in the available space. We have absolutely no reason to accuse them of being anti-God. Talk about conspiracy theorists... Sheesh!

[Diddle E. Squat]

The same people wailing and gnashing their teeth over this would have been posting vitriolic accusations that Dr. Pepper was exploiting God for commercial gain if they had left in the phrase "under God". Apparently discernment is an art too difficult to master for some. Easier to play the eternal victim.

Meanwhile, this is the kind of argument over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin that the liberal media will use to portray all conservatives as out-of-touch cranks into on establishing a repressive theocracy. And then these same people will be amazed when conservatives lose Northeastern and West Coast states. Earth to obssessives: pick your battles, use judgement, and try not to make the rest of us look like kooks. Us real-world conservatives are trying to win over enough moderates, libs, athiests, etc. to get a conservative govt. Do you want to overturn Roe v. Wade, or do you just want to forever whine about how the country is going to hell?

[newzjunkey]

I accept their explanation as truthful and honest. They wanted to emphasize unity without the bland "United We Stand" phrase. They did so by invoking language from the Pledge.

This isn't like the patriotic "commercial" that ran in movie theatres (particularly the Edwards chain in So. Cal) where it was accompanied entirely by "America The Beautiful" tellingly missing the line "God shed his grace on thee and crown thy good..."

People who react negatively to this need, finding malice where this is no case, to get a grip and concern themselves with *real* problems.

On example might be the memorial cross atop Mt. Soledad here in San Diego. It's an unmistakeable landmark. The ACLA and an atheist have convinced the full circuit court to review a three judge appeals panel's finding, agreeing with the trial judge, San Diego acted properly in the auction of the land surrounding the memorial. This was the second time the city had attempted to please the ACLU and atheist complaintants by selling the land. The first sale was overturned. The second, done at the direction of a vote by the people of San Diego, a bidding auction, was a court approved settlement. The ACLU and atheist argue the bidding was rigged in favour of the veteran's group which has long cared for the site. This case has been ongoing for about eleven years now. It just won't die.

What disturbs me about this case, isn't that the City shouldn't be displaying a cross on public land, but that the Church/State separatists care NOTHING for the memorial's history. With the way they're preceding you'd think the city had erected it, wouldn't you? Not so.

The memorial was erected by a private family which then owned the land to honour the deaths of their veteran sons, (IIRC, in WWII). They left the memorial in their will to the city for upkeep. This happened before the culture of Church/State separation legal "jihad".

[Amore]

Absolutely No. 3. How ridiculous. I'm glad it turned out to be nothing because I love (diet) Dr. Pepper. Yum! And I suspect the people here who trash it's taste are really communists! ;- )

[nicmarlo]

Here's what I wrote them:

You say "that the message on these cans is a resoundingly patriotic, bipartisan message that we are a united nation." I say you have left out the most imporant part of our pledge and nation: God.

I shall no longer purchase Dr. Pepper or 7 Up products for my home or children. That's my message.

They're so stupid, thinking we're so stupid.

[Sloth]

Actually, when I saw an earlier thread on this, I was inclined to defend Dr. Pepper on the same grounds that others here have... that it was just a few words, not as though the left it out of the entire Pledge, etc. I said the same about Tom Hanks when he got criticized for it.

But after reading Dr. Pepper response, ostensibly written to maintain good PR, I am a lot more bothered by this. They could not even bring themselves to use the words "under God" in the entire press release!? This is like issuing a press release about a particular public figure without ever giving his name. Bizarre, and indicative of something deeper.

Anyhow, as far as the 'not enough room' excuse goes, haven't these people ever heard of using different font sizes?

[PatrioticAmerican]

"bipartisan message "

God is a partisan?

[mustapha mond]

They will get no more of my money. --MM