| PepsiCo
Inc said on Wednesday it is ending its endorsement relationship
with English soccer star David Beckham after 10 years in a move
described as mutual by both sides.
"We
wish David well with the many projects he is pursuing and
look forward to the possibility of partnering together with
him again someday," the soft drink maker said in a statement.
Beckham,
who plays for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Los Angeles
Galaxy but is on loan to AC Milan in Italy, said he had nothing
but good memories of his years pitching Pepsi.
"I
hope everyone who has seen the work Pepsi and I have done
together enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it and, who
knows, there may yet be another chapter in this long relationship,"
he said in a statement.
The U.S.
recession has caused the National Football League and National
Basketball Association to cut jobs. Major League Baseball
has frozen budgets, while the Arena Football League to cancel
its 2009 season.
While
Beckham's signing two years ago raised public awareness of
the MLS, his tenure has been marred by injury and poor performance
by the Galaxy, and TV ratings for the U.S. sports league remain
stagnant.
Beckham
was meant to elevate soccer to a higher status when he signed
a five-year deal worth up to $250 million, but some analysts
have said the MLS will never be more than a minor player on
the U.S. sports landscape.
Corporate
sponsors and advertisers have not been spared either with
many reducing spending.
General
Motors Corp has slashed promotional spending, including the
decision to stop airing ads during the NFL's Super Bowl championship
game in February. The struggling automaker also said about
a month ago it would end its endorsement deal a year early
with popular pro golfer Tiger Woods at the end of December.
Terms
of Beckham's deal were not disclosed, but Britain's Daily
Mail newspaper said the contract was worth 2 million pounds
($2.9 million) a year. Beckham, 33, touted Pepsi in commercials
over the years dressed as a cowboy, a surfer and a gladiator.
In October,
Pepsi, which makes Pepsi-Cola drinks, Frito-Lay snacks and
Quaker foods, posted a weaker-than-expected third-quarter
profit and cut its full-year outlook, underscoring the impact
of the economic slowdown on beverage sales, especially of
bottled water.
It also
said at that time it would cut 3,300 jobs, or about 1.8 percent
of its work force, as part of a plan to save more than $1.2
billion over three years.
In past
years, other Pepsi celebrity pitchmen have included pop stars
Michael Jackson and Britney Spears
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