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PEPSI’S CRISTIANO ads went viral yesterday, but in the worst way possible for the company.
Before yesterday World Cup qualifier between Portugal and Sweden, Pepsi’s Swedish branch posted several ads featuring a voodoo doll of Ronaldo, Portugal’s uber famous forward.
Here’s one where the doll is strapped to train tracks:
The ads caught more attention in Portugal than Sweden, and Portuguese fans quickly set to work organising against Pepsi. A Portuguese Facebook group proclaiming “I will never drink Pepsi again” has gained over 130,000 “likes” in the past day.
Here’s an ad with the doll’s head crushed in:
Pepsi responded to the outrage by pulling the ads and issuing this statement: “We would never want to put the sport or the spirit of competition in a negative light. We regret if people were offended by the posts; they were immediately taken down. We would like to extend our apologies to all concerned.”
The last one is an excessive take on a traditional voodoo curse:
And in case you missed it, Portugal beat Sweden 3-2. Ronaldo scored all three goals, and the victory knocked Sweden out of the playoffs.