Coca-Cola has always had a winning way with advertising. It is one reason why the company is so hated by the anti-capitalist 'public health' racket. Its old slogan about Coke being The Real Thing has taken on a new resonance now that several of its competitors have replaced their flagship brands with artificially sweetened forgeries.
Coke was never going to make that mistake. It will never forget the New Coke fiasco of the 1980s. Pepsi hasn't advertised its full sugar version for over a decade, but Coca-Cola is going all out with a campaign that seems designed to reassure its customers while trolling its competition.
When the sugar tax came into effect, it ran this full page ad in British newspapers...
It has now released this advert in which the company makes it clear that it listens to its customers, not nanny state killjoys.
Our Classic Coca-Cola recipe has stood the test of time for 130 years, and we’re not changing now. Find out more here - https://t.co/AcrcJv3jim pic.twitter.com/n1ltBsTt0I— Coca-Cola GB (@CocaCola_GB) April 17, 2018
It's nice to see a company standing up for itself for a change. The contrast with Lucozade Ribena Suntory could not be sharper. Via Dick Puddlecote, I found this scarcely believable quote from its CEO, Peter Harding, in which he explains why he decided to degrade his products.
“I was being stared at, at the school gates by other parents. Jamie Oliver was beating me up, so were other celebrities, NGOs and the media. They were demonising me as though sugar were the new tobacco. The criticism was not nice for anyone, including our employees.”
Mr Harding's soft skin has cost Lucozade £62.6 million and counting. Despite the fact that it literally cannot give the stuff away, the company announced yesterday that it would be spending another £10 million advertising Victory Lucozade. It hasn't learned the lesson from New Coke that no amount of advertising can shift a bad product. It cannot be long before shareholders are baying for Harding's blood.
It is not just Coca-Cola that can do decent advertising. At one time, the Conservative Party knew how to appeal to the public. Take this campaign ad from 1952, for instance (via Tom Harwood)...
Those were the days. The days when the Conservative Party won elections with a sizeable majority.
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