Stars brave heat for Cola

Pepsi Cola's star endorsers promote the brand in Beijing on May 19, 2009. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

"It's hot in here and maybe you'd like a cup of icy cola?"

Jolin Tsai hoped to hear "Yes please" when she braved Beijing's scorching sun on Tuesday to promote a cola brand at an outdoor press conference.

The Taiwan pop singer and 11 other star endorsers of Pepsi Cola gathered at the 798 Art District to celebrate the release of the latest cola commercial.

"It was like having fun in a big party," South Korean actor Lee Jun-Ki said in relation to his experience in shooting the ad.

The stars, which also included Taiwan singer-actor Show Luo, mainland actor Huang Xiaoming and Chinese-Korean pop group Super Junior-M, were also there to promote Pepsi's ongoing singing competition.

The company launched a nationwide contest last month called "Voice of the Next Generation". A series of auditions and concerts will be held through to July to find a musical band that Pepsi says "should best represent the voice of the next generation."

The winning band will be rewarded with high-quality music equipment, a cash prize of 200,000 yuan (US$29,306), and opportunities to record a studio album in Hollywood.