PepsiCo undecided on future with Tendulkar

NEW DELHI: Beverages major PepsiCo said on Thursday it was yet to take a call on whether to continue with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar as Pepsi's brand ambassador after his contract expires next month.
    
The company, which has already parted ways with Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid and roped in younger cricketers like Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma, will decide whether or not it would renew contract with Tendulkar.
    
"Pepsi is still deciding on that (Tendulkar as brand ambassador), his contract is expiring next month," PepsiCo India Executive Director Punita Lal said on the sidelines of a press conference organised by the company here.
    
Asked why the company was giving a second thought about the deal, Lal said, "Its about how much you (as a company) can afford and how many new faces you want to introduce".
    
She, however, said the company would like to stay associated with Sachin and he was a brand that will not go away.
    
"Sachin is still a big brand and will remain so in the next 20 years," she added.
    
PepsiCo's decision to sign Ishant and Rohit is part of the company's focus to position Pepsi as a youth brand, for which it has also kicked off its new campaign for 2008 'Yeh hai Youngistaan Meri Jaan'.
    
PepsiCo announced the re-launch of its mango drink Slice, which has been the fastest growing brand with over 30 per cent growth. The company has reformulated the product with a new logo and roped in Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador.
    
The launch will be supported by an aggressive advertising campaign for the season ahead.