Britney, Christina: Pop Wars

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/20/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

You may have seen Britney Spears at the Oscars last Sunday -- not on the Shrine Auditorium stage, but in a highly publicized, two-minute commercial for Pepsi-Cola. (Sen. Bob Dole appeared in a cameo.) Pepsi is also underwriting her current concert tour. Now Britney and Pepsi are getting a little competition: rival pop diva Christina Aguilera is now set to star in a new ad campaign for rival soda pop company Coca-Cola, Coke confirmed to news agencies on Thursday. (What hasn't been confirmed is Aguilera's reputed $10 million contract with Coke, which is thought to be the equal of Spears's with Pepsi.) Aguilera has already been featured in a Coke TV ad in Latin America that debuted Sept 13, 2000, Scott Williamson, a rep for the No. 1 soft-drink giant, told Reuters. "She will be one of the marquee components of our summer 2001 promotion (in the U.S.)." As part of Coke's summer promotion to begin in May that is said to feature $1 million in giveaways, one lucky winner may also have the chance to meet Aguilera on the set of a video shoot. Both Britney, 19, and Christina, 20, began their careers in the early '90s as members of the Disney Channel's "Mickey Mouse Club."