CINDY CRAWFORD ENLISTS IN COLA WARS

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

(c) 1996 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. All rts. reserv.

08019083 CINDY CRAWFORD ENLISTS IN COLA WARS SEATTLE 
POST-INTELLIGENCER (SP) - THURSDAY, January 19, 1995 By: P-I 
News Services Edition: Final  Section: News  Page: A3 Word Count: 326

MEMO: People TYPE: COLUMN

TEXT: PepsiCo  is  launching  a fresh attack on Coca-Cola Co. and other 
rivals in the  ``cola wars'' with an advertising blitz starring model Cindy 
Crawford, the company announced in London yesterday.

   Crawford features in two of the 17 ads in the campaign, one of which has 
her, uncharacteristically, wearing braces on her teeth.

    The campaign will be aimed at the market outside North America.
   The   company  hopes  Crawford's  endorsement  of  Pepsi  will  be  more 
trouble-free  than  some  of  its previous campaigns. The last Pepsi star - 
until  he  was  dropped in November 1993 after he became embroiled in 
child abuse allegations - was Michael Jackson.

   --  --

   Billy  Joel  was  shaken  awake but unhurt in the earthquake that struck 
Japan,  and  he  is donating concert proceeds to victims. Joel was in 
Osaka for two concerts when the quake hit.

   He  was  sleeping on the 20th floor of the Osaka Hotel Plaza and 
escaped with  no  injury  even  though  the  hotel sustained major damage, 
said his spokeswoman  in  the  United  States.  None of his crew or band 
members was hurt.

   ``We  are  among the lucky ones,'' Joel said in a statement. He promised 
to  donate  some  of  the  proceeds  from  his  Osaka concerts to aid 
quake victims.

   --  --
   Actor-comedian Jason Stuart announced he was gay on the ``Geraldo'' 
show in  1993.  ``Because  of  my  coming out,'' he said recently, ``this 
year I guested on `Murder, She Wrote,' `seaQuest' and `The John 
Larroquette Show.' ''

   Stuart,  who pretended to be straight for his audiences for eight years, is 
 currently  performing in Pittsburgh. He said he came out so that future 
gays  and lesbians ``can see that someone like me can play gay and 
straight roles.''

   ``Most  of  the time the audiences are fabulous and supportive,'' Stuart 
said in a recent interview with Reuters.

   ``Why  are  certain jobs designated for heterosexuals and homosexuals?'' 
he said. ``Why can't a gay guy play an explosives expert?''

   c

CAPTION: Photo

   P-I file/1992: Crawford
                Copyright (c) 1995,The Seattle Post-Intelligencer