“Hallelujah, someone ‘Catch That Pepsi Spirit’!”
“And I do solemnly swear, that by the state of Texas and the power of the Holy Spririt, y’all shall receive it today — Amen”.
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Walk into any Sunday church sermon down near the south and you’ll probably find yourself sampling a taste out of the Pastor’s attempt to unify the self in spiritual union, or at least recognizing — if not anything else — his flashy rhetorics, glossy gestures and the oh-so familiar preaching statement that always holds that Texas touch. In West Lawrence, Kansas, be prepared to riddle your own sensitivity as they invite a cordial communal congregation of followers to join in evoking the Spirit; only this time, it’s not the Holy Spirit in for worship. That’s right y’all, with your right hand hovering up high and the straws in your mouths, sing the praise of the abundant “Pepsi Spirit!”
This mouldering rhetoric is seen as anything but decayed from the eyes of the average highway cruiser overlooking the billboard from afar but for a staunch Christian fundamentalist, perhaps their tendency to undress this image as a jeering parody would come into motion with Richard Santana and Gregory Erickson’s description of the “literal truth” [1]. Of course, where would a toast to religious interpretation come if it is never tested against in its participation within the entanglement of neoliberalism and of course, corporate culture?
One can certainly taste the satire inherent in a presentation like this, where both elements of popular culture and religion are neither subversive in relation to the other; instead, they operate under the same marketing edifice that merge the two into an assumed complementarity in order to pitch the rhetorically-interpretative desires for materialism and gratification that both Christian literalists and the corporate construct of Pepsi reconcile towards.
This classic 70’s Pepsi slogan — “Catch That Pepsi Spirit” [2 ]— is highly synonymous of a product that, paradoxically, sells the same appeal for the literal that fundamentalists pursue in their hunt for spiritual satisfaction — either for the indulgence of a connection with the metaphysical or simply, for the sensual enjoyment that comes from Pepsi consumption.
Here’s a window into the video presentation of the classic jingle:
There is little doubt that both form rely on elements of conformity to be transmitted for so long — the experience of ritualizing a communion-like congregation is indifferent to the flock of Pepsi consumers that flood the supermarkets every time’s there’s a 12-pack on sale.
Let us extend the configuration of this relationship to two converse markets of religion — Judaism and Christianity. Both are tempered by similar notions of faith with slight variations, as analogous to the mosaic of competing tastes seen in Pepsi and Coca-Cola products.
Of course, there isn’t complete duality inherent as an advocate of William E.B. Du Bois’ “Double Cconsciousness would expect; followers of both faiths are as easily susceptible to the pressures of conversion into forms of the other. But, like in most cases of religiosity, a committed Pepsi disciple always remains staunch and unswerving to their faith — be it towards soda or any institutionalized system.
Ultimately,whether you’re a Pepsi fan or a Christian literalist, perhaps it comes down to a determinant of where the fan-based faith lies.
Amen to that.
References:
[1] Smith, J.Z. “Consuming Faith: Advertising, the Pornographic Gaze and Religion Desire.” Religion and Popular Culture: Rescripting the Sacred, 53. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008.
[2] Beene, Gary. “Garu Beene’s Information Centre.” Web. http://www.garybeene.com/pepsi/pep-hist.htm
