Pepsi Sponsors Christian Music by Featuring Toby Mac, Francesca Battistelli, Matthew West, and Matt Maher on Their Cans Jeannie Law Jan 06, 2014 10:20 AM EST

The multinational mega corporation Pepsi is supporting Christian Music by featuring Christian artists on their limited edition cans.

The mainstream market is showing much promise for vast Christian media attention in the New Year, with several blockbuster films coming to theaters. Will secular companies follow suit and support all of Christian entertainment; only time will tell.

For the first time in history last year, Pepsi supported Christian music by displaying a handful of Christian artists and their messages of hope on the brand's popular cans.

Toward the end of 2013, the Winter Jam Tour and Pepsi MidAmerica joined forces for one of the largest Christian music marketing initiatives in the history of the beverage industry.

Pepsi decided to help spread positive music after being the sponsor of the K-Love Fan Awards. K-LOVE, the leading Christian radio network in the country with a weekly listenership of over 13 million, followed that up by launching the "Christian Artist Can Panel."

Each Christian artist involved with the project was featured on three million cans of soda (12 million total). Each of these cans included a link to get a free download by that artist. The artist's featured on the can were Francesca Battistelli-Diet Pepsi, Matt Maher- Dr. Pepper, Matthew West- Pepsi, and TobyMac on Mountain Dew.

When announcing their sponsorship of the K-Love Fan Awards, Pepsi MidAmerica's President and COO Lee Crisp said, "We are proud to sponsor such an amazing event with such a positive meaning."

"These Pepsi cans were originally intended to quench thirst but now we realize they're able to quench a deeper thirst...a thirst of the soul," Crisp said of making the decision to promote the gospel message by publicizing Christian artists on their cans.

This outlook is in sharp contrast to recent remarks by Coca-Cola Spain's CEO Marcos De Quinto, who posted a series of anti-Christian rants on Twitter, generating protests and an international boycott after calling conservative Christians "fanatics," "intolerant" and "rabid anti-abortionists."