Coca Cola’s Grand Promotional Mistake
Coca Cola has always been diligent when it comes to the promotion of its globally known products. Vitamin Water, a popular healthy drink brand by Coca Cola was a part of a contest in which an English word is randomly paired with a French word on each bottles’ cap to collect and create funny sentences. This promotion, although creative, had a problematic issue which caused many loyal consumers to become upset and the public to question the organization’s ethical means.
A few Coca Cola consumers found offensive comments such as “You Retard” and “douche” printed on the backs of the Vitamin Water bottle caps during this promotional contest. Coca Cola has explained this was not at the fault of a disgruntled employee, but a mistake by the random word generator they used to place English and French words together for this contest. Coca Cola has since apologized, however this mistake isn’t one to be taken lightly.
“Edmonton woman Blake Loates shows the Vitamin Water bottle cap she received with the words “you retard” printed on it.”
In French, “retard” means delay and “douche” simply means shower. These are just innocent words in the French language, but are taboo in the English language. Furthermore, it is unacceptable for Coca Cola to be exposing such objectionable phrases to its young and impressionable consumers. Though teenagers and young adults may not find this aberration to be a big deal, this may well negatively affect its family oriented consumers. The simple and honest mistake made by Coca Cola is a costly one; a mistake that jeopardizes the company’s brand image and moral.
In future actions by Coca Cola, meticulous inspection for loopholes and gaffes should be made before public release. This promotional contest would have been a great marketing campaign for its Vitamin Water brand if not for that careless oversight.
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References:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/canada/130919/you-retard-bottle-cap-causes-coca-cola-pull-promotion-apologize
