No one.

No one. No one could really give a shit, especially as I was doing it all for my own selfish reasons. And screw those arseholes at Snickers, I probably increased their yearly profits single-handedly from all the Snickers I ate on this trip:

SNICKERS REJECTION EMAIL:

Reply-To : mm_mars@mmmars.com
Sent : Saturday, 12 June 2004 6:05:20 AM
To : leon_steber at hotmail.com
Subject : Re: 5513397A
In response to your email regarding MASTERFOODS USA,
A DIVISION OF MARS, INCORPORATED productThank you for your email.We are sorry to say that we are not signing any new sponsorships. We are focusing on our current national sponsorships.

We wish you every success in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Consumer Affairs
Masterfoods USA
A Division of Mars,Incorporated

SUBJECT: PLEASE RECONSIDER, RE: SPONSORSHIP OF LEON STEBER

Dear Sir,

Thankyou for your quick response in regards to my request for Snickers sponsorship. However I feel I have been dismissed too quickly before you have gotten to know me and I please ask you to reconsider?  I think Snickers needs to market itself as a gluten-free alternative sports energy bar and feel that I would be perfect as the “new face” of Snickers for the Summer of 2004.

I’m sensitive, passionate about the outdoors and looking after the environment and the whales and all those things, not butt-ugly, semi-intelligent yet stupid enough to ride aimlessly around California on a bicycle for over a month now. It has been Snickers that got me over the Sierras (once in either direction!), Snickers that pushed me up the Big Sur Coast, Snickers that saved my arse on the Gold Country hills. I feel Snickers should market itself towards “real” people doing “real” things, not gorgeous Hollywood-looking beach bodies having fun at the sea. Not that I have anything against gorgeous bodies.

As an attractive bonus, I am also very cheap and would gladly give my time and my face to the Snickers marketing department in return for only a few Snickers bars each day of my trip (and maybe a Snickers cycling jersey … so I can spread the good word…!)

I ask you to please reconsidering sponsoring me,

Best Regards
Leon Steber

Not coke either…Not like I care though. But I could have really done with a new shirt. Bastards…

COCA COLA ENQUIRY FORM:Dear Coca Cola,I am currently on a bicycle journey that started out in San Francisco almost 200 days ago, wandered aimlessly through California, and then up to Alaska and now heading South through Mexico.

Today I rode from San Cristobal de las Casa to Ocosingo.  A very pleasant ride through mountains covered with pine trees and past many small indigenous villages. I was impressed to see how much Coca Cola has made its mark on these villages.  I see Coca Cola billboards, Coca Cola chairs, Coca Cola umbrellas; they even use Coca Cola in some of their shaman rituals.  But nowhere did I see a Coca Cola trash can.  The roadsides were littered with empty Coca Cola bottles and other trash.  Why is this?  Does Coca Cola not consider this to be a part of their social responsibility?

I was also wondering whether you would like to sponsor me for the remainder of my trip?  I would gladly promote the brand in exchange for a new, bright red Coca Cola cycling jersey (my existing jersey is looking a bit faded and worse for wear I’m afraid). Or even a new water bottle with the Coca Cola logo splashed across it, that would go down fine. Even a bit of money if you’re that way inclined, wouldn’t go unappreciated.  I don’t actually drink any Coca Cola myself (gives me bad gas; I can clear a room of people with a single fart after a glass of Coke) but would be more than willing to do the Coke company a favour by wearing the logo on the back of my sweat-drenched and smelly shirt.

If you’d like to sponsor me, let me know and I’ll send you details of the next big town I’ll be stopping in.Kind Regards
Leon

Coca-Cola Support (coca-cola.support@na.ko.com)
To: leon_steber at hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Coca-Cola Web Form
Friday, 25 February 2005 3:54:09 AM

Thank you for your recent email message, Mr. Steber. We appreciate
your interest in our commitment to the environment.

The Coca-Cola Company focuses its efforts in two main categories: packaging and operations.  Significant strides have been made in both packaging innovation and reduction of the amount of raw materials needed to produce packaging, or source reduction.  We use only packages which are recyclable, and we are active in supporting recycling initiatives, as well as litter prevention programs around the world.  On the operations side, we are quite proud of our efforts in the area of wastewater quality.  Before we discharge wastewater into a natural body of water, we treat that discharge to a level capable of supporting fish life.

I’ve included links to two brochures on our website that illustrate our commitment to preserving the environment:

http://www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/eKOsystem.pdf

http://www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/environmental_report.html

As a consumer oriented Company, consumer feedback is very important to us.  Please be assured that we have shared this information with our colleagues in Mexico.

Please visit our website again if we can be of further assistance.

Sherry
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

To: coca-cola.support@na.ko.com
Subject: RE: RE: Coca-Cola Web Form
Thursday, 3 March 2005 19:27:05 AM

Thanks for your vaguely related response to my query regarding your environmental policies.  I guess you guys just have a list of standard answers to commonly asked questions.  However, you aren’t doing your job properly; where’s your standard answer to my sponsorship question?  I’d really love, at least, a coca cola water bottle.  The mouthpiece on the one I’m using at the moment is getting quite crummy from all the spittle around my mouth after a day’s riding.

Thanks again for your response, have a great day.

Cheers
Leon

Coca-Cola Support (coca-cola.support@na.ko.com)
To: leon_steber at hotmail.com
Subject: RE: RE: RE: Coca-Cola Web Form
Monday, 7 March 2005 4:07:12 AM

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Steber.

The Coca-Cola Company focuses its efforts in two main categories: packaging and operations.  Significant strides have been made in both packaging innovation and reduction of the amount of raw materials needed to produce packaging, or source reduction.  We use only packages which are recyclable, and we are active in supporting recycling initiatives, as well as litter prevention programs around the world.  On the operations side, we are quite proud of our efforts in the area of  wastewater quality.  Before we discharge wastewater into a natural body of water, we treat that discharge to a level capable of supporting fish life.

As I am sure you can imagine, The Coca-Cola Company receives numerous requests for support on a daily basis from a wide range of individuals and organizations from more than 200 countries where our brands are sold.  While we would love to support every worthwhile request that comes to us, we simply can’t.

We wish we could respond more positively.  If you have additional questions or comments, please visit our website again.

Sheila
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company