Los Angeles - UPI
Popular Pepsi fanatic, competitive eater and YouTuber Kevin Strahle may have finally cracked the code to getting Crystal Pepsi back on the market.
The company hinted to the product's revival in a letter sent to Strahle commending him on his energy toward an expensive campaign to bring back the drink, which is a clear version of the classic soda popular in the '80s. Crystal Pepsi has been off the shelves for about 20 years.
Strahle, known on YouTube as L.A. Beast, has over 1.2 million subscribers on the site. His campaign to Bring Back Crystal Pepsi evolved into a worldwide affair in just a few weeks and includes a petition with over 33,000 signatures, 15 billboards in the Los Angeles area and a hashtag (#BringBackCrystalPepsi) with over 6,500 tweets associated with it. Fans have also bombarded Pepsi's Instagram page with thousands of comments asking for Crystal Pepsi's return.
On June 8, Pepsi sent "Mr. Beast" a letter recognizing him as a "Pepsi superfan." In the letter, Pepsi reps assured Strahle that he'd be "happy with what's in store."
To further push rumors of Pepsi Crystal's actual return, the letterhead donned the clear product's vintage logo instead of the company's current official one. In a message to his subscribers, Strahl outlined the first 49 days of the campaign, which started when he drank a 20-year-old Crystal Pepsi and subsequently vomited on-camera.
"I will continue to relentlessly fight the good fight until everyone who has been a part of this movement (World Wide) has a fresh Crystal Pepsi in their hands," he wrote in his most recent message regarding the campaign. "Then I shall enjoy mine. This is a glorious day, yet i will not believe this until it physically happens."