An illustration of this aspect is well illustrated by Sriramesh (2005), who presents an argument about the soft drink industry in Egypt. According to this argument, Egypt is by far an Islamic state. The two major soft drinks in the country are Coca cola and Pepsi cola. Given that the Islam religion discourages the taking of alcoholic beverages, the soft drinks are taken as the major beverages in major social gatherings in the country. Pepsi cola is the most famous soft drink in Egypt ahead of Coca cola for one major reason: in 2000, there was a rumor spreading that the company’s logo had a non-Islamic meaning.
The claim went that if the logo was held upside down in front of a mirror, then it read ‘No Mohammed, No Mecca.’ Since most of the activities in the country are based on the Islamic culture, this rumor had devastating effect on the sales of the Coca cola Company. Sales dropped by about 20%. To save the situation, the company had to convene a meeting with the Islamic scholars and the Grand Mufti to resolve the issue, though the idea was not to clear the company’s name but to seek the opinion of the respected Islamic leaders. Besides, the meeting was also held in accordance with the Islamic cultures and tradition, and the Grand Mufti had to publicly make its statement declaring the rumor wrong (Sriramesh, 2005). This incidence shows why it is so necessary to consider the background and the beliefs of the people before making an advertisement or designing any public relations tool, because any slight mistake can result to devastating effects
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