Coca-Cola sends a message with label-free cans

I love it and I hope they do the same or similar here.

Coca-Cola sends a message with label-free cans

Coke has introduced a new version of its iconic red-and-white can in Middle Eastern countries for Ramadan, the Muslim holiday that ends July 17. The new red cans feature Coke's signature dynamic ribbon but not the words "Coca-Cola" and are intended to promote open-mindedness and tolerance. The backs of the cans bear the message "Labels are for cans, not people."

I think this is really cool and could be a very powerful marketing campaign; not just because of the message on their labels, but the message of the accompanying marketing video:

Prejudices can be formed in mere seconds, so the company brought together six men to discuss their lives in a dark room. As the group talked, they shared opinions about what the others looked like, only to have those preconceptions shattered -- one was a cognitive psychologist with face tattoos, another a clean-cut heavy-metal rocker -- when the lights came on.

Brilliant! What better way for men to see with their hearts than to make it impossible to see with their eyes???

Of course, no good deed goes unpunished... some folks just can't have that:

Coca-Cola trashed for preaching tolerance in the Middle East with label-free cans for Ramadan

And the article continues to do exactly that. And while most articles' titles were basically informative, with no editorializing, you could find plenty of critical and derogatory comments after the articles. But this title at one blog took it to a whole new level:

ALERT: Coca-Cola Makes Disgusting Move in Honor of Muslim Holy Month

Disgusting? Really? Disgusting??? Wow. Just wow.

However, as was pointed out at one of those less than appreciative articles, some labels serve a valuable purpose and some people need to be called out. I have to agree. Like the haters who just seem to want to hate, not because it serves any useful or constructive purpose.... in fact, even when it serves the opposite purpose.

Or maybe not. They usually tend to out themselves. So never mind

Cool gesture but I doubt it's going to have any meaningful impact on anything. Not trying to be negative or anything, just looking at realistically.

S&F

a reply to: Boadicea

I like the Muslim's woman's reply in the 2nd story:


Hey @CocaCola why do you think Muslims need to fight prejudice? Why didn't u launch this campaign in the US?

Or this guy:

Great. Now Coke's dim campaign "Asks Muslims to fight prejudice on Ramadan." Because Muslims are prejudiced, right?


LOL, Backfire!

What is Coke inferring here?

Coke has been despised throughout the Muslim world for years.
Changing the can wont help them sell more there...since that is why they did it, not for some idealistic goal.

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: Boadicea

I like the Muslim's woman's reply in the 2nd story:

Hey @CocaCola why do you think Muslims need to fight prejudice? Why didn't u launch this campaign in the US?

LOL, she has a point.

Yes, she does. As I said, I hope they do it here too... and everywhere... but I wish they had launched a worldwide campaign. I guess they had to start somewhere, and wherever they started, they were going to get this pushback. So let's hope they keep it going around the world and show it's not about Muslims.

a reply to: infolurker

They should have launched it on ATS, since this is the most prejudice place I encounter on a daily basis.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
Cool gesture but I doubt it's going to have any meaningful impact on anything. Not trying to be negative or anything, just looking at realistically.

S&F

I agree this one marketing campaign won't change the world... but it can change at least a few hearts... and can be part of a greater effort if others are willing to make their own effort.

originally posted by: the owlbear
Coke has been despised throughout the Muslim world for years.
Changing the can wont help them sell more there...since that is why they did it, not for some idealistic goal.

I don't care why they did it.... I care what people do in response. I can't speak for Muslims -- or anyone but myself of course -- but I don't think Coke would have made the effort if they didn't have reason to believe it would positively impact their target consumers, including Muslims.

I guess time will tell!

originally posted by: Boadicea

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: Boadicea

I like the Muslim's woman's reply in the 2nd story:

Hey @CocaCola why do you think Muslims need to fight prejudice? Why didn't u launch this campaign in the US?

LOL, she has a point.

Yes, she does. As I said, I hope they do it here too... and everywhere... but I wish they had launched a worldwide campaign. I guess they had to start somewhere, and wherever they started, they were going to get this pushback. So let's hope they keep it going around the world and show it's not about Muslims.

I'd like to teach the world to sing.... but were starting with YOU.

LOL

Guess they'll be drinking some Pepsi.

originally posted by: amicktd
a reply to: infolurker
They should have launched it on ATS, since this is the most prejudice place I encounter on a daily basis.

You obviously don't get around the Internet very much then.
Granted, ATS has it's moments but I assure you there are far more prejudiced places than here.

Cool gesture but I doubt it's going to have any meaningful impact on anything. Not trying to be negative or anything, just looking at realistically.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
Why? Doesn't, in your reality, the possibility exist where a campaign like this can succeed? Imagine if all marketing worked like this, we would all look at one another much differently.

a reply to: Boadicea
Coca Cola is a despicable Company with an ugly History, enjoy your Cancer Sugar Piss.

And you know what Bill Hicks said about Marketing.

a reply to: ugmold

Everyone knows Bill Hicks is Alex Jones

Still, it looks like a "please buy us, PRETTY please" for Coke considering the Muslim world doesn't buy their stuff. If they wanted to make a statement that meant something, as posters above have said, they would have done so in a nonhostile environment.

This just comes off as tacky.

a reply to: Boadicea


I think Coke are still trying to undo generations of gossip in the Arab world about their drink.

www.answers.com...

No, Coca-Cola does not contain pig blood. In 1954, a rumour spread through Morocco that Coca-Cola contained pig's blood, which would have made it unacceptable among Muslims. The beverage remained suspicious until the sultan's son drank a can of coke publicly. One fact is eagerly expressed by the company--that the glycerine used to darken the beverage is extracted from vegetable matter, not pork.

Except the signature look is the label.

This is a PR stunt, imo.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: Boadicea


I think Coke are still trying to undo generations of gossip in the Arab world about their drink.

www.answers.com...

No, Coca-Cola does not contain pig blood. In 1954, a rumour spread through Morocco that Coca-Cola contained pig's blood, which would have made it unacceptable among Muslims. The beverage remained suspicious until the sultan's son drank a can of coke publicly. One fact is eagerly expressed by the company--that the glycerine used to darken the beverage is extracted from vegetable matter, not pork.

Yuk. I know I've heard about undesirable things in Coke -- and Pepsi for that matter -- here too. I don't drink soda so I don't pay much attention. But still... yuk. Do you know how or why the rumors got started?

originally posted by: ugmold
a reply to: Boadicea
Coca Cola is a despicable Company with an ugly History...

So I'm learning!

...enjoy your Cancer Sugar Piss.

I don't drink Coke -- or any soda. And a commercial won't change that!

Apparently Coca Cola is doing quite well in the middle east now...

Amid strong sales in the Middle East, the popularity of fizzy drinks such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite and 7-Up, known in the beverage industry as carbonates, has waned in traditional high-consumption markets, UK-based analysts Euromonitor noted last month.

Source

And it seems much of the public relations problems were political:

Sales of Pepsi’s products have traditionally been stronger in the region, due in part to an Arab League-imposed boycott on Coca-Cola, which began when the firm decided in 1968 to open a bottling plant in Israel. The freeze on Coke sales did not end until 1991.

Source

They have also been doing similar campaigns in Egypt:

In fact, the unrest in Egypt has actually led to a positive outcome for Coca-Cola’s business in the country. The situation served as a catalyst for activating new marketing campaigns.

“We tapped into the psyche of our Egyptian consumers”, explained Mr. Bolden. The company used the notion of “building a future together” by making an effort to portray itself as improving Egypt as a whole. The outcome of the unrest has created an opportunity for Coca-Cola to engage in what Mr. Bolden calls “cultural leadership”.

Examples of successful initiatives which gained momentum by way of the “revolution” include Coke Studio Middle East, a music television series fusing Arabic and international artists and perhaps the most famous of the company’s recent marketing initiatives.

Source

They are quite popular in the Palestinian territories as well:

In the Palestinian territories, Coca Cola bottling plant known as the National Beverage Company (NBC), appears to be winning its uphill struggle to produce the iconic curved bottles that have now been in circulation for 100 years. The 17-year-old Palestinian company boasts $100 million in revenues, an 86 percent share in the local fizzy drinks market, and 400 employees in an area known for sky-high unemployment.

originally posted by: WakeUpBeer


This is a PR stunt, imo.

Aren't all marketing campaigns "pr stunts?"