Health Organizations Shame Katy Perry for Repping Pepsi

Kids love celebrities. Kids also love sweet treats. It’s a match made in marketing heaven, which is why soda and celebrity have gone hand-in-hand since Marilyn Monroe was sipping Coke in black-and-white.

In today’s health-conscious atmosphere, however, the star/soft drink marriage is drawing some serious ire from health organizations focused on tackling America’s obesity epidemic. The latest target of that ire is Pepsi-pushing pop star Katy Perry.

A group of seven health organizations, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, will run an open letter to the starlet today in Variety, urging her not to “exploit [your] popularity by marketing a product that causes disease in your fans.”

The letter draws parallels between the ramifications of marketing soda to children and those of marketing cigarettes to children.

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