I craved one yesterday so off I went. But it was noon and there was a long line at the sandwich counter so I decided to buy ingredients from the deli to make my own.
As the clerk was slicing my order of salami, bologna, beef and cheese, she asked, "So when are you making this sandwich?"
"Soon as I get home," I replied.
"That's a shame," she smiled. "I don't go on break until 1:45 or I'd come over and help you eat it."
"Well then," I joked. "You're just gonna have to sneak a slice or two."
"No way," she said, turning solemn. "That would be stealing."
Too bad the marketing geniuses at Coca-Cola don't share her sense of right and wrong.
Coke has a current :30 TV spot featuring a young man in a convenience store. He is standing at a Coca-Cola fountain dispenser, holding an empty cup. He might be a store employee. Or a customer. Doesn't really matter.
He fills the cup, casts a furtive glance around to be sure nobody is watching, and takes a sip. Then a longer sip. Then he tops off the cup.
As he walks away, presumably to pay for his drink, type supers over: "Sip Stealing. Not a felony in all 50 states."
I wonder if Coke ran that spot past any of the thousands of retailers who sell its products?
Coca-Cola doesn't care if people steal Coke, Sprite and its other brands from its fountain accounts. Retailers like 7-Eleven, Publix and McDonald's have to pay Coke for the syrup whether their customers or employees buy a soda or steal it. In fact, stolen sips increase the company's bottom line because retailers have to buy more than they otherwise would.
But retailers care. So should anyone with half a brain.
Impressionable young viewers may have troubling understanding that Coke isn't encouraging them to steal ... because, in fact, it is. Coke is saying not only is it perfectly acceptable, it's cute.
Well it isn't. It's tough enough raising kids. The last thing parents need is one of the world's largest companies, a company that sells a "happy" product, telling their children it's OK to steal. And if you agree, tell Coca-Cola to yank that spot. Here's the address:
If Coke doesn't pull the spot, I hope McDonald's or some other major account runs a commercial showing customers how to steal Coke concentrate from the truck that delivers it to their local bottler. The spot can feature teens hijacking the truck, tying up the driver, then driving off and holding a beach party, dousing each other with buckets of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta because, after all, it was free.
Coca-Cola executives wouldn't find that so cute, would they?
One last thought that occurred to me after I hit "publish." Coke's lawyers, of course, had to vet the spot before it could air. I bet the copy originally said, "Not a crime in all 50 states." Fact of the matter is, stealing IS a crime in all 50 states. So, how'd they get around it? By insisting on "felony." Someone who steals a soda is committing a misdemeanor, not a felony. Clever, huh?
ReplyDeleteWhile the commercial seems cute, it may have overlooked the message the ad is trying to deliver. The media is a powerful tool. Therefore, every company — big or small — should know how to use it, without creating a negative reputation for their product or service. Sure, it'll draw media attention now, but will it be worth all the headache and possible lawsuits that might follow? Anyway, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBetty Rose @ Phenix Investigations