PepsiCo announced yesterday that it has removed from the Internet the controversial iPhone app for its Amp energy drink.
"We have decided to discontinue the Amp iPhone application," the company said in a prepared statement. "We've listened to a variety of audiences and determined this was the most appropriate course of action."
The application told young men how to score with 24 “types” – such as Sorority Girl, Cougar, Rebound Chick and Goth – and provided pickup lines and links to resources for the effort.
It also urged them to post information about their conquests online. The controversy was a double-edged sword - it created a firestorm among some critics who said that the company was guilty of exploiting women, but it also made the free app one of the most popular in the iTunes Store.
The company previously had apologized for having offended anyone, but left the app up, which led some people to suggest that there was a certain lack of sincerity in the apology.
"We have decided to discontinue the Amp iPhone application," the company said in a prepared statement. "We've listened to a variety of audiences and determined this was the most appropriate course of action."
The application told young men how to score with 24 “types” – such as Sorority Girl, Cougar, Rebound Chick and Goth – and provided pickup lines and links to resources for the effort.
It also urged them to post information about their conquests online. The controversy was a double-edged sword - it created a firestorm among some critics who said that the company was guilty of exploiting women, but it also made the free app one of the most popular in the iTunes Store.
The company previously had apologized for having offended anyone, but left the app up, which led some people to suggest that there was a certain lack of sincerity in the apology.
- KC's View:
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’d like to suggest that Pepsi didn’t back down until the folks there read the withering comments made about the app here on MNB this week. But that’s probably not the case.
Still, we believe here that Pepsi did the right thing, if a little late. And I’d be willing to bet that company CEO Indra Nooyi had something to do with the decision - it may have gotten a little personal when it was suggested that, as the mother of daughters, she might not want to let them hang out with guys who had iPhones.
Not everybody agrees. Some people think this is political correctness gone wild.
But we think they are wrong. This app exploited base instincts and demeaned the people who used it. And just for the record, I am anything but a prude. But I am a dad, and I try not to forget that in the pursuit of profit and “buzz.”
