London's Sunday Times reported that Mecca-Cola has become the drink which has come to be seen as "politically preferable" to Pepsi or Coke in many Muslim countries

Also, Danish products were boycotted in many Islamic countries in protest of an offensive cartoon that was printed in Danish newspapers. Considering these two examples, show how religion can have an impact on marketing.

Religion is one of the most important sources of a culture's beliefs, attitudes, and values. Hindus do not eat beef, which means that McDonald's does not serve hamburgers in India. There was a big uproar when it was found that McDonald's french fries had beef as one of the ingredients. Similarly, Jews do not combine fish and dairy products, which makes McDonald's fish fillet a problem for them. Jews and Muslims do not eat pork, which rules out the use of bacon in many products sold by fast food operations. Restaurants in Malaysia have to declare that all meats are Halal or sacrificed in a specified religious way. In addition to religious requirements, religious sentiments also play an important role. After the incidents of September 2001, there was a distinct feeling of anti-Americanism in many parts of the world, particularly the Middle Eastern region. Mecca-Cola was an attempt to make indigenous products to compete with American ones. One of the concerns in allowing Turkey to join the European Union is that it is predominantly Islamic, whereas other members are comprised of Christians. All these cases show that religion plays a very important role in how people live as well as buy products and services.