Front row seats at Arab Idol finale with Pepsico

Press release

Published March 27th, 2012 - 09:43 GMT

Al Bawaba

PepsiCo’s grand prize winners from the UAE, Saeda Al-Dakkak, Mustafa Taha and his son Alaa, flew off to Beirut on March 23, 2012 to attend one of the most anticipated showdowns in Arab television, the season finale of MBC’s Arab Idol, one of the most popular musical programs in the Middle East.

Saeda Al-Dakkak, Mustafa Taha and his son won all expenses paid trips to Beirut provided by PepsiCo to attend the final elimination round and witness the rise of Arab Idol’s next star Carmen Sulaiman. Only a lucky few had the chance to experience live what ten thousands of viewers across the entire Middle East were following on their TV screens, enjoying the excitement of being close to their stars.

PepsiCo’s strategic sponsorship of the region’s most spectacular entertainment event stems from its vision of enhancing the quality of popular music through supporting and nurturing artistic talents in the region by giving them the opportunity to develop and emerge.

Arab Idol is a great platform that encourages young local talents to reach for the stars. PepsiCo’s sponsorship of this highly popular entertainment event is part of its continuous commitment to support young talents and strengthen the region’s artistic culture.

The social and cultural initiatives undertaken by PepsiCo are an important part of the company’s efforts to serve the community and contribute to the process of social evolution within the framework of local culture.

The Idol program is hugely popular with TV audiences throughout the world following its tremendous success in Great Britain where it premiered in 2001 under the name “Pop Idol”. Since then the program has become a global phenomenon with a large number of viewers in countries including USA (where it is known as American Idol), Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Australia and India, and is now being enjoyed by viewers across the Middle East in its newest version as Arab Idol.

Background Information

Pepsi Cola International

In 1965, Donald Kendall, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola, and Herman Lay, the CEO of Frito-Lay, recognized what they called “a marriage made in heaven,” a single company delivering perfectly-salty snacks served alongside the best cola on earth. Their vision led to what quickly became one of the world's leading food and beverage companies: PepsiCo.

For more than 50 years, as tastes, trends and lifestyles have changed, PepsiCo has evolved with them. Our willingness to adapt and grow has transformed our snack and soda company into a collection of global brands including Pepsi and Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana, Frito-Lay and beyond. Today, PepsiCo is one of the world’s most-respected companies with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories and 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.