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Baghdad, Iraq (NBN) - A hopeful beginning has ultimately proven to be a thorough disappointment after the Coca Cola company reported last week that it will discontinue production of the soft drink Surge in Iraq, due to poor sales performance.

The citrusy soft drink was pulled from the US market in 2001, but Coca Cola executives had expressed a hope that the beverage would do better in the war-torn region of Iraq and provide a much-needed boost to morale. But shortly after launch in 2005, it became clear to market analysts that the Surge soft drink was failing to integrate into Iraqi society.

“The Iraqi people, unfortunately, don’t associate themselves with the ‘Extreme Lifestyle’ to which Surge caters,” says Coca Cola spokesman Robert Freeman. ”While originally it was thought that the war would be a perfect hotbed with which to launch such an extreme soda, we soon figured out that the Iraqi people would actually prefer a more stable, less-extreme environment. Unfortunate.”  

But Coca Cola is not alone in its disappointment with the Surge’s failure. In a recent speech given at University of Denver, Republican Senator John McCain expressed how disheartened he is with the situation in Iraq.

“We really thought that Surge, and the lifestyle it represents, would have a profound effect on the Iraqi people,” said GOP presidential candidate John McCain. ”But in order to help the situation in Iraq, it not only requires the presence of Surge, but cooperation and committment on behalf of the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, it seems as if the Iraqi people are a little too timid for the world’s first ‘Fully Loaded Citrus Soda.’”  

POSTED BY BEN NEWMAN, 12:34:38 NEW YORK, NY

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