Dr Pepper: 'this was one of the largest responses we have ever received for a giveaway'
Dr Pepper has commented on the harshly worded letter sent out by Axl Rose's lawyers on Tuesday (November 25) to the soft drink maker complaining of its "appalling failure to make good on a promise it made to the American public" that it would give out cans of its 123-year-old soft drink if the Guns N' Roses album, "Chinese Democracy", came out by the end of the year. When asked about the letter, Dr Pepper said in a statement to The New York Times that the company took "great steps" to accommodate the online requests from consumers.
"This was one of the largest responses we have ever received for a giveaway," the statement said, "and we're happy we were able to satisfy the thirst of so many Dr Pepper fans."
Rose's representatives said that they tried to collaborate with Dr Pepper on the best way to distribute the soda, but that negotiations broke down.
"We had made an effort to turn this into a win-win-win ? for the American public, Dr Pepper and Axl," Laurie Soriano, one of Rose's lawyers, told The New York Times. "But Dr Pepper's view was just that Dr Pepper would win."
Early sales reports suggest that "Chinese Democracy", which was released through an exclusive deal with the Best Buy chain, might not be the blockbuster the industry had hoped for. Sales figures will not be available until next week, but early estimates put the first-week total at 300,000 copies ? roughly 50,000 more than the opening number registered by "Contraband", the 2004 debut from Velvet Revolver, which features in its ranks Rose's former Guns N' Roses bandmates Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum.
Read more from The New York Times.
A couple of enthusiastic Guns N' Roses fans attempt to get a free Dr Pepper without a coupon: