Pepsi has apologized to Cristiano Ronaldo after posting "bizarre pictures on their official Facebook page in Sweden of the Portugal forward as a voodoo doll in various forms of distress," according to James Orr of the London INDEPENDENT. The "viral ads were posted on the day of the second-leg of the World Cup qualifying play-off between the two sides, but the black magic had no ill effect on Ronaldo, quite the opposite in fact" -- he scored a hat trick as Portugal won 3-2. Pepsi has offered its "sincerest apology" to the player, "after three images showed the doll -- in red Portugal kit complete with visible No 7. -- being tied to a train track, having its head crushed by a can of Pepsi and being spiked by needles." Under the train track picture was the "regretful caption: 'We're going to pass over Portugal'" (INDEPENDENT, 11/21). In London, John Drayton wrote the ads "sparked outrage" in Ronaldo's homeland, with a Facebook page titled "I'll Never Drink Pepsi Again" getting 115,000 likes. Pepsi is "a major sponsor of Ronaldo's Barcelona rival, Lionel Messi" (DAILY MAIL, 11/21).
