2007-07-09

Political Post: Surge vs. Surge


The time has come to wonder which Surge will end up being more successful: the 2007 'surge' in Iraq or the 1997 Coca-Cola caffeinated lime-green soda product.

Let's compare!

Analysts say Surge, the new soft drink announced Monday, is a gamble, but is worth a shot in a market where other citrus drinks have fizzled. [link]

The offensive is the biggest by US troops since the assault on Fallujah in November 2004 and is part of the “surge” of troops by George Bush. It is a desperate gamble to rescue the occupation from defeat. [link]
Addressing those who are already calling the “surge” a failure, Kilcullen says:

“Ten days ago, speaking with Austin Bay, I made the following comment: ‘I know some people in the media are already starting to sort of write off the ‘surge’ and say ‘Hey, hang on: we’ve been going since January, we haven’t seen a massive turnaround; it mustn’t be working’. What we’ve been doing to date is putting forces into position. We haven’t actually started what I would call the ‘surge’ yet. [link]

Surge is Coca-Cola's biggest gamble on a soda brand since its decision in 1985 to replace the Coca-Cola formula with New Coke, a flop that cost the Atlanta-based company $35 million. [link]

Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term," Sen. Lugar said. [link]

Surge was widely associated with the extreme sports lifestyle, with television commercials similar to those currently used by Mountain Dew. Expired cans and bottles of Surge now sell on eBay for high dollar amounts, including a reported $160.08 for a 12-pack sold in April 2005. [link]

The attempt to move forward, the "surge", has so far borne few if any fruits, while any attempt to edge backwards is fraught with new dangers. [link]

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was sponsored by Surge. The Surge logo can be found in some WCW video games. [link]

The Pentagon spokesman said this week's report will be a "a snapshot at the front end of the surge capability." ... He said "the surge is not an open-ended commitment," but it is premature to judge it now.

"What we do hope is that the surge, in fact, will achieve its results as quickly as possible so we can get to a point where we draw down American forces ...." said Snow. [link]

We want to let you know that SaveSURGE.org has every intention of continuing our campaign. We will not give up! SaveSURGE.org will live on and we will continue to celebrate and advocate for SURGE. [link]


Also:

I don't know why I'm obsessed with cola, but here's a post from a few years ago about how the Strib's new redesign resembled New Coke, and here's a bit I wrote many many years ago about parallels between politics and cola marketing.

Also Also:

I'm old enough to have been a Post-secondary U of MN student when "that obscene, green mountain" was surge-flavored, snowy topography dwarfing Coffman Union. Does anyone else have this unfortunate image burned into their long term memory banks?

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