‘It looked like the Pepsi logo’: Obama was initially skeptical of campaign symbol

President Barack Obama said he initially doubted whether the “Yes We Can” slogan or now iconic Obama logo would be successful when he was preparing for his 2008 presidential campaign. In conversation with David Axelrod, chief strategist for both Obama presidential campaigns, the commander in chief explained that he thought the phrase “Yes We Can” was too simplistic and that the logo, reminiscent of the Pepsi brand, looked altogether too corporate. Obama was contrasting his experiences at the Democratic National Conventions in 2000 and 2004 on Monday’s episode of Axelrod’s “The Axe Files” podcast.