European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse A world of walking billboards Brand names rival designer labels by Melissa Sones United press International t started with coca cola clothes. Now Pepsi cola and jello garments Are on the Way. Are corporate Brand names eclipsing designer labels As the new status symbols i think you la see it spreading said Bud Mccullar general manager of Pepsi apparel America a subsidiary of the of corp., which licensed the Pepsi cola name domestically for a line of clothing due out in october. I think you might see a growth pattern Here similar to the pattern with designer jeans that was very Active in the late 70s and Early 80s," Mccullar added. The Competition agrees. I think you re going to see a lot of people trying to do More with their corporate and product Brand names said Richard Hosp senior vice president of marketing at Murjani International the company that licensed the coca cola name in the United states for apparel and apparel related products corporations License products to carry their corporate name for a variety of reasons including Money protecting a trademark and As Hosp noted As a powerful tool to enhance their enhancing a corporate profile via licensing requires a new product that fits in with the lifestyle associated with the original product. Murjani did extensive Market research before deciding that the Youthful honest fun Loving Appeal of coca cola would translate to according to a spokesman at general foods the Jeno logo is Ideal for the front of a sweatshirt or the Back of a pair of jeans because Jeto has begun to get a very Erma Bombeck contemporary look to it with the new line of Frozen general foods feels likewise about Kool Aid another of its products although the firm has not released specifics on licensing arrangements for either jello or Kool Aid. Youthful fun Loving contemporary corporate images translate Best to inexpensive sportswear like jeans. To shirts shorts sweatshirts and sweatpants. The coca cola line introduced last August is geared to the 18 to 25-year-old soft drink customer and includes 125 traditional styles. The bestsellers Are the conservative Rugby shirt and sweatshirt. By Tho end of its first year Hosp said sales will have reached a whopping $200 million. In addition to clothes coca cola has licensees for handbags swimwear watches and men s accessories like Pepsi agreements were made in Exchange for a percentage of the royalties a figure the manufacturers refuse to reveal. This August with the help of a spectacular laser show in the planetarium of the museum of natural history in new York Pepsi apparel America will introduce clothes geared to the 12 to 24-year-old soft drink customer younger than the More conservative Coke Drinker. Therefore unlike Coke clothes Pepsi apparel will include Junior sizes and designs billed As More fashionable and More that Means hip oversized to shirts sweatshirts and knit tops. Rather than giant logos emblazoned across its clothes Pepsi apparel America is using Lively and Subtle graphics like minute Pepsi cans Beach scenes or Geometric Memphis designs. Trends aside Why would anyone agree to be a walking billboard a to Thart Covert few a Brand of French Olga attn. I Don t think they will Wear it because it says Coke or Pepsi on it said Mccullar. They will Wear it because of the fashion associated with the Brand itself. A Pepsi consumer is a Young fashion consumer so if they see clothing that fits their own image it will have it s Camp and it s fun said Hosp. Murjani has also entered the retail business with their High tech coca cola Pizzazz stores. The first was launched on trendy Columbus Avenue in Manhattan last november followed by one in Paramus. N.j., with plans for four More by the end of the year the Columbus Avenue store operates like a space age cafeteria. Customers enter the store and scan video screens for information on coca cola clothes. After making their selections they place the items on trays and slide them along a stainless steel Countois to the cashier outside the store stands Murjani s answer to the automatic Bank Teller an electronic 24-hour shopping Kiosk. Touch the control Board to indicate your choices shove in your credit card and Murjani will ship your Coke clothes right out. At the moment Columbus Avenue is the company s experimental Laboratory for the electronic Kiosk. By the end of july there will be two in Boston and three other As yet undetermined spots on the East coast meanwhile Murjani is working on a More sophisticated machine that will spit out clothes immediately of corp. Has no plans for its own boutiques or kiosks. The apparel manufacturer will concentrate on department store sales boosted by a heavy television advertising Campaign beginning in 1987. As for Murjani s plans Hosp said the firm is considering Brand names on shoes. With every Day that goes by i have More and More concern for my goo friends Connie and Barney years ago Connie and Barney promised to love and to cherish one another for better or for worse for Richer or for poorer in sickness and in health until death did them in. There was no mention made that Barney smoked and Connie was a non smoker. This was one mixed marriage that was going to work. They moved into a Condo and vowed nothing would separate them from one another. People in the Condo never knew How in love they were because Barney could t smoke on the elevator so he walked Down the stairs and met Connie at the car. She shopped alone because Barney could t smoke in the supermarket. Someone saw Barney at a restaurant one night eating alone. He assured them he was with Connie who was in the non smoking Section eating by herself. They blew one another a kiss from across the room. I saw Connie one by at the Bank and asked about Barney. She said he was in the car where he could smoke. Another night we saw Barney in the theater lobby. He was having a cigarette and said Connie was inside in Row Eor maybe she had t come that night. He was t sure. We were talking about them one Day when someone said there was definite friction about going to Connie s Mother s Tor a visit As she complained the smoke smelled up her curtains and Barney refused to go out on the porch every time he lit up. There was trouble in Paradise. Even Connie and Barney realized it. So they went on a vacation to recapture the closeness they once Felt for one another. The Only problem is they sat in different sections on the air plane and she went on the tour bus for non smokers and he was on the other bus with the smokers. There was talk of having a baby but when Barney set off the smoke alarm Over their bed with his cigarette Connie became tense and there was an argument. In the doctor s office last week i saw Connie she looked tired and drawn. Where s Barney i asked. She pointed to a sign on the Wall thank you for not i nodded. Did you know we had a son she asked. Connie i said that s wonderful. Who does he look like Connie paused a moment. I m not sure. It s been so Long since i be seen Barney i can t c 1986, los a in Chi time Syndicate saturday. August 30, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17
