Is Coca Cola Acting Like A Drug Dealer?

At first I thought this was cute and fun, but then I began seeing it in a different light. It made me think of drug dealers and how they lure in clients with the good stuff or with discounts, then come back and charge more after all the addicts get a taste. Marketing voodoo imo, or am I just seeing too much in this? It seems they are going after the Asian market with an "open happiness" campaign. It is my understanding that in general the Asians are not a snack/sugar consuming culture like so many Western nations, so is this crafty aggressive marketing?

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Is Coca Cola Acting Like A Drug Dealer?

No... Not since they took the actual COKE out of the recipe.

Now if that machine was dispensing 8-balls in return for a hug you might have had a case.

No, nearly all businesses do what you said drug dealers did in your OP.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Having been in marketing for a number of years, sadly it is indeed a marketing ploy to increase consumption of their beverages in Asia. Coke is not in the business of giving things away for free..without a doubt there has been a cost analysis and an ROI (return on investment) analysis done for this campaign and if it wasn't profitable for Coke in the long term, these "hug me" machines wouldn't exist.

Here's an article discussing the machines;

www.forbes.com...

The below statement is telling of Coke's intentions;

In a statement as part of the company’s ‘Open Happiness’ campaign, Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN IMC Director, The Coca Cola Company, explained that: “Happiness is contagious. The Coca Cola Hug Machine is a simple idea to spread some happiness. Our strategy is to deliver doses of happiness in an unexpected, innovative way to engage not only the people present, but the audience at large.” In other words, they hope it goes viral throughout Asia leading to outbreaks of random hugging, all with the Coca-Cola brand in mind.

What Coke is trying to do with these machines is associate their Brand/Product with Happiness to turn a "want" into a "need" and ultimately sell more product!

What Coke is trying to do with these machines is associate their Brand/Product with Happiness to turn a "want" into a "need" and ultimately sell more product!

edit on 14-4-2012 by Ericthenewbie because: (no reason given)

And why not,.. they're a business. There would be something wrong if they weren't trying to get people to 'need' their product.

reply to post by cahlmac


I don't disagree with you, business' are in business to make a profit and if they weren't.. they wouldn't be around very long. I was simply trying to shed some light on what the intent of the machines were and address what the OP was getting at.

People can be very savvy in their consumer behavior but don't think for a second that marketers aren't just as, if not more savvy in their ability to manipulate those consumer behaviors. A marketer's bag of tricks is much deeper than most consumers give them credit for is all I was getting at.

Great bit of marketing as much as I hate the advertising indusrtry and all the other industries that employ their talents.

Did you know that Coca Cola are the only coke company to always use extract of coca leaf - yes that's the stuff coc aine is from. That is also their "secret ingredient".

When Red Bull tried to emulate the Coca Cola flavour, the Germans banned their sales!

Ha!

reply to post by Ericthenewbie


Yeah I get what you are saying. Sorry if I seemed a bit abrupt in my earlier post.
I agree that marketing departments in these big businesses seem to know all the right tricks to get people to need what they are selling and make them feel as though they are missing out on something if they don't have ready access to whatever it is.

reply to post by lostjohnny


Yes it's true that Coca-Cola's original formula in the late 1800's did contain coc aine as did a variety of other products including medicine and other sodas/pops/soft drinks (depending on your nationality). However Coca-Cola eliminated coc aine from their recipe back in 1929.

From your source it says the following;

"There is no scientific basis for this ban on Red Bull Cola because the levels of coc aine found are so small," Fritz Soergel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Nuremberg, Bavaria, told Time magazine. "And it's not even coc aine itself. According to the tests we carried out, it's a non-active degradation product with no effect on the body. If you start examining lots of other drinks and food so carefully, you'd find a lot of surprising things."

Here's a link talking about the full history of Coca-Cola and coc aine;

snopes.com... aine.asp

As a side note; I noticed you used "coke" as a soda/pop/soft drink classification...which only reinforces what I was saying about branding earlier...no different then when you have to blow your nose and ask for "Kleenex" or make a photocopy by "Xeroxing" it.

Ick. Hugging a machine to get a coke. Getting one's face right up on that machine is a good way to pick up viruses and germs.

Those people would be better off hugging their loved ones and drinking water, but I guess a mega-multinational corporation like Coca Cola has to find clever ways to get attention and push their product.

They should show an obese person with bad teeth smiling, and a caption underneath which says "Got HFCS?"

reply to post by cahlmac


In most cases I agree, but trying to alter an entire culture to consume crap like this is, imo evil, destructive and intrusive. Several years ago Frito Lay tried to get into the Asian market, and the ceo's issued a memo acknowledging that the Asians were not into salty snacks for convenience, so the wording of the memo was to convince the culture that the products were healthy, as a main selling point. They went to all the schools pleading to set up vending machines for free for a promotional time. Sure this could be seen as business as usual, but when it comes to feeding toxic, sugary/salty processed crap to kids, sorry I am not down with it. Plus Frito Lay tried to take over a bulk of Asian agriculture by bringing in a heavy commercialized process and providing gmo potatoes because they grew faster. Many people were laid off due to the innovations. Ultimately Frito Lay was unsuccessful at getting there claws into the culture, and now someone else is. Just because it's business as usual does not make it right, fair or needed.
I think it is insidious to try and change a culture for profits by selling them crap!!!

reply to post by Ericthenewbie

I agree Eric and I know the jobs and growth argument, but to what end. If these companies have tried and failed to become popular with a culture, then these kind of 'free' moves is just a bit immoral in my opinion. Here we are in the US trying to minimize sweets in schools, and yet we promote them elsewhere. Yea, c'mon and be like us, obese and with diabetes.

Thank you for the reply,
spec

reply to post by FissionSurplus

Agreed friend

They should show an obese person with bad teeth smiling, and a caption underneath which says "Got HFCS?"

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


If it's not usually consumed in asia then it is wrong on so many levels.
It's an addictive product.


Anyway @ speculativeoptimist: Frito Lay? Are these the Crisps called Lay's?
Here in the UK, the Brand Lay's is called Walkers, and is more fitting than lay's IMO.

reply to post by cahlmac

And why not,.. they're a business. There would be something wrong if they weren't trying to get people to 'need' their product.

because we live in a society not an economy.... back on topic. Sugar is a drug and one of the biggest killers in the world..

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Just to be clear... I'm not saying it's morally right to do but on the other hand it is perfectly legal. Similar marketing tactics are used daily across the world by a variety of organizations for a variety of products and or services, heck it's even used to sway beliefs and ideas. Typical business practice if you lose market share in one market or demographic group..go after another market share or demographic group (so as you stated, as Coke consumption diminishes in the US..try to increase Coke consumption somewhere else.. in this case Singapore).

Although you see this campaign for what it is now you have to ask yourself "have I been mislead or manipulated by other organizations and not realized it?".

In the end, believe it or not, you and everyone else still have the power..it's called the power of choice!. Simply don't buy the product or service.


reply to post by purplemer


Sadly society and economy go hand in hand...society can't exist without some form of economy even if you are striving for utopia

Originally posted by purplemer
reply to post by cahlmac

 

And why not,.. they're a business. There would be something wrong if they weren't trying to get people to 'need' their product.

because we live in a society not an economy.... back on topic. Sugar is a drug and one of the biggest killers in the world..

Everything is about the economy now. Most of the world seems to say screw society, lets make a quick buck.

Back on topic.... Sugar may be one of the biggest killers in the world, but it's like everything else, if taken in moderation where is the harm? Personally, I happen to enjoy a glass of Coca Cola every now and again but it doesn't mean I'm going to drink 2 litres a day, have my teeth falling out of my head and become obese.

And yes, I also smoke and enjoy a beer at the weekend( I know, throwing more money to the big companies). Those two are also huge killers but again, moderation.
I know I'm not doing myself any favours and eventually I may regret it, but you know what... I could drop dead tomorrow, or get hit by a bus or something.
I'm not going to stop myself having a coke, a beer or a cigarette just because it could eventually do me some harm.

reply to post by Chukkles

I think it is the same, Lays snack products, aka snack-crack-in-a-bag
I am glad you see it the way I do, and like I said, business as usual does not always make it right.

peace

reply to post by Ericthenewbie

Although you see this campaign for what it is now you have to ask yourself "have I been mislead or manipulated by other organizations and not realized it?".

I say yes, hugging a machine for artificial love to develop a fondness for a product is misleading imo.

In the end, believe it or not, you and everyone else still have the power..it's called the power of choice!. Simply don't buy the product or service.

Yea, but if you drop some crack on a string in a monkey cage, does choice still play out altruistically, or has nefarious manipulation taken place? Plus we are talking about children as a market target, and yea I have a problem with that in general, but particularly in this case dealing with an entirely different culture. Sure people don't have to eat the carrot hung in front of them, but does that make it right? The ring of freedom does not always resonate happiness and good health.