President Aquino pining for love sparks new Cola Wars

President Benigno Aquino III. AFP file photo

President Benigno Aquino III has unwittingly sparked a skirmish in the long-running Cola Wars.

Reports of Mr. Aquino jokingly describing his romantic affairs like different Coca-Cola variants apparently prompted a rival soft drink company to answer this virtual presidential endorsement with a full-page newspaper ad.

The latest Pepsi Cola ad which came out on Saturday enticed drinkers who “love life” to switch from “Zero to Max.”

It was an apparent takeoff from the remarks the President made before the Filipino community during his state visit to China last week, in which the known Coke drinker said his love life used to be “regular,” then it got “light,” and is now down to “zero.”

The quip, a much-applauded ice breaker in a speech Mr. Aquino delivered to an audience of Filipino migrants at China World Hotel on Aug. 31, was a play on the soda’s different variants based on calorie content.

A day after the remarks made headlines, Pepsi put out an ad with the tagline: “Love life? Go from Zero to Max.” It was a pitch for its low-calorie, sugar-free blend Pepsi Max.

So, is the President taking action on the Pepsi ad’s suggestion?

Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang just laughed and said: “For reasons which I’m sure you’ll understand, the Palace will not involve itself in the Cola Wars.”

Still protective of his boss’ after-work affairs, Carandang also declined to comment on reports that actress Iza Calzado had denied going on a date with the President.

The supposed date was the subject of an item churned out by the show biz rumor mill over the weekend.

“That’s like WikiLeaks,” Carandang stressed. “We don’t comment on the President’s social life, so I will not comment on that.”