Britney Spears is no longer the choice of a new generation. Beyonce Knowles of the R&B group Destiny’s Child and co-star of this summer’s Austin Powers in Goldmember has replaced Spears as official PepsiCola spokesperson. Spear’s contract ran out at the end of 2002. Knowles will be featured in two TV spots, as well as radio and Internet ads, P-O-P materials, and consumer promotion. Pepsi may also sponsor a solo concert for Knowles in 2003. Inked in early 2001, Pepsi’s two-year agreement with Spears was the cola giant’s largest endorsement deal to date, worth an estimated $4 million to $10 million (April 2001 PROMO). Terms of the deal with Knowles were not revealed.
In other news, Spears filed a 1.5 million lawsuit against Manhattan Beach, CA-based Skechers, charging that the company used her image to promote their own line of rollerskates, rather than the Britney-branded 4 Wheelers. The suit also contends that Skechers pulled out of an agreement to sponsor the singer’s 2001-2002 Dream Within a Dream tour.
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